Dimensions and Realities
by Simply Seth
Summary: The Human Anomaly, Iji Kataiser, ventures into a teleporter to make certain that whatever lies beyond it poses no threat to her companions, as well as herself. She decidedly did NOT expect to find a bunch of misfits of vastly differing species duking it out on a frequent basis, nor did she predict that she would become such close companions with so many of them...
1. Prologue: Unknown Variables

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Well, this idea has been brewing around in my head for quite some time, now…

I am quite a huge fan of _Super Smash Brothers_ and this indie game called _Iji_ (seriously, try it out; I can just about guarantee you that you'll like it), so, I figured, why not try a crossover? This story shall primarily be a slice of life-y one, with an over-arching plot that you will probably only make itself known on occasion, like in another _SSB_ fan fiction, _You_ , _Me_ , _and Him_ (which I _also_ highly recommend that you check out; I think that I might be easily impressed...). There will also be _no romance_ , so, for those turned off by a lack of it (heh, heh), leave if you feel you must. And for those of you who are wondering why this is not in the actual _Super Smash Brothers_ / _Iji_ section? Well, I can pretty much confirm for certain that it won't be seeing the light of day, as A) most crossovers aren't that popular to begin with, B) Iji isn't the most popular game either, C) and, as such I would imagine that it would go nearly entirely unnoticed by anyone and everyone in a crossover section that will have one story, and D) I'm an attention-grabbing (and _needing_ ) _git_ who E) loves to break the rules. _Hah_ , nah, just kidding. I don't demean myself in that kind of manner… _much_.

As for scheduling, I think that it will be updated weekly, and if not that, probably bi-weekly. Like most people, I've plenty of free time; it's just that I sometimes lack the motivation to get off of my lazy arse and do something productive. Oh, and apologies for that ahead of time, by the way!

For those that have not yet played _Iji_ , don't worry; the general plot of the game and the characters will be explained in-story, though this also means that _**MY STORY WILL CONTAIN**_ _**SPOILERS FOR IJI**_! You have been warned, my fellows!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do _not_ belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Prologue: Unknown Variables

* * *

"Anomaly." A title that she had been called as far, _far_ more often than she cared for as of late. A brief sigh left her mouth at this thought. Getting up from the chair she was sitting on, stretching afterwards, she looked up at the unhuman being that practically towered over her. "What is it, Ansaksie?" The black-clad, nine-foot-tall alien answered, "Something strange has happened." A short, contemplative pause from her. "Well, stranger than _usual_ , at least. A teleporter has apparently gone on the fritz in Deep Sector. A Soldier – Yukabacera, was it? – apparently got bored and hacked into it, entering in some random co-ordinates. You know that when someone does this, the teleporter simply doesn't work, as it can't connect to another teleporter that doesn't have that matching set of co-ordinates, correct?" A nod from the relatively tall, brown-haired human. She inexplicably felt as if she has heard something like this before.

"Well, this one connected anyway, meaning that there somehow _is_ a telepad that had similar coding _and_ co-ordinates to match ours. And who knows where it leads? Everyone down there has been trying to shut the thing down, but, for whatever reason, it just will _not_ do so. At this point, they're questioning whether they should just get a Tasen Elite over there and blow the thing up with an MPFB. It's causing _that much_ trouble." Ah, yes. Now she remembered where she heard this from, before. "Is it going to be like that one problem with Sector Z?" Now, _that_ was a strange occurrence, the debacle with Sector Z. Ansaksie shook her head in the negative, and the human couldn't help but exhale in relief. "As far as we can tell? No, it isn't. It might _become_ one, though, which is why your brother asked me to come retrieve you. He thinks that the solution might be in sending you through and disabling the cause of this thing before it devolves into something dangerous, like last time." And the relief had immediately vanished. "Not again," she muttered, putting a hand up to her face to rub at her brow, aggravated and worried that this might become an issue. "I guess I don't have a choice, huh? Alright. Let's go." She was just beginning to get invested with some additional schematics for reconstructing their situation, too. ' _This is going to be a_ bad day, _isn't it_ …?"

The alien and the human walked on for a decent length of time, the twenty-year-old having to accelerate her pace every now and again to keep up with the significantly taller Assassin. The two only occasionally exchanged words as they travelled; they didn't really have a whole lot to say to each other, which lead to some lengthy stretches of comfortable silence. The scenery eventually transitioned from the greys of Sector X to the greens of Sector Nine, and the green-eyed woman, recognizing their location, began climbing up a latter to her right, the helmeted alien simply teleporting up to the ledge with a yellow-white flash, instead. After waiting for a few moments for the human to climb up, the odd-looking pair continued on, coming to a locked and bulky-looking grey door. The female human knocked twice, and, raising her voice slightly, said, "Hey, it's me and Ansaksie!"

A good few seconds passed, and the door cranked open, a gaunt-looking, eight-foot-tall alien greeting the two. A bit of purple was visible on a couple of spots between its armor, showing off its lavender skin-shaded. It stepped aside, closing the gate when they passed into the threshold of the room. "I still don't get why you guys have these security doors around. The Komato are all gone, and you're safe now, so why keep them?" The gold and gray-clad alien shrugged, saying in a tongue that was clearly not English yet undeniably feminine, "Old habits die hard, I suppose. I mean, it was barely a week ago that we – and, by extension, the entirety of our _race_ \- were about to die. Plus, well… We may be a bit paranoid at this point, but what if there are still some Komato left here on Origin?" The Elite glared a bit at the Assassin next to the woman, with said woman shrugging back. Despite their differing languages, the human responded back, "I guess." She took notice of the Elite's hostility. "And you don't need to treat Ansaksie like that. She may be a Komato, but she's not your enemy." The Elite deflated a bit, saying, "Maybe so, but I've lived most of my life fearing death from them…" The Tasen seemed to try cheering itself up, saying, "Well, that aside, we're glad that you're here. That damned telepad won't shut off not matter what we try; not even Yukabacera, who's the one who hacked the thing to begin with, can shut it down. We're beginning to wonder if we should just—"

"Blow it up with an MPFB?" the only human present cut in, a small smirk on her face. "… Yes. How'd you guess?" She stole a quick glance at Ansaksie, answering, "Well, word travels fast. Especially when you've got a person who can teleport a mile or two in a few seconds." She chuckled a bit, the Elite joining in, with said Assassin merely shaking her head in mild exasperation. "Right, right. So, you going to come, or not?"

"Well, why do you think I'm here?" she responded, her irritation at this new predicament returning a tad. The tall alien backed off a bit. "Well, all right, then. Come with me; we're going to Deep Sector." They did so, and a couple of minutes later, they were there. Taking the grey, green-lit lift downwards, the three waited a solid two minutes or so, the cyan-skinned Assassin idly tapping a foot on the currently moving floor while she waited. Eventually, the lift came to a halt, and they continued onwards, hopping down the occasional ledge. The human felt a bit of unease at being here again, as she did not have any kind of fond memories of this place; a relatively small number of days ago, she wandered down here, curious as to what this place contained, only to find nearly a dozen human corpses strewn about the place, most all of them having been killed by a blade of some kind, if the gouges on their bodies were of any indication. Only a couple of minutes after her discovery, and she was nearly killed herself by a large amount of Komato Assassins, only surviving because of her keen battle instinct and highly advanced Nanoweaponry. Ansaksie was not among those numbers; in fact, she wrote a log that the human found, the contents of which essentially telling the Assassins in the area to fight her if they wanted, and that they were going to be on her tail shortly, warning her as to the presence of the threat, if perhaps unintentionally.

However, that was then, and this is now. The bodies were given respectful burials, and the ever-looming threat of the Komato has been dealt with, with only a handful of Tasen and humans being left alive in the end after the other aliens' assault. ' _It_ ' _s all over_ , _now_ ,' the human thought. ' _No need to be getting cautious over nothing_ …' The brown-haired human, the Tasen, and the Komato finally came upon a groups of roughly a dozen other Tasen, who's appearances ranged anywhere from a similar appearance to the Elite to being the human's height and wearing blue rather than gold. There was also another human, who, aside from his somewhat shorter height, gray hair that looked rather startling for his evident age, and yellow eyes, bore a strong resemblance to the long-haired female. "Hey, Dan," the taller human greeted casually. "Oh, Sis! There you are! I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long! You know the situation, right? With this weird teleporter and all?"

"You bet I do! You said that you wanted to send me through it? Because if this turns out to be _anything_ like that Sector Z incident, I think that I'll be more than a little angry at Yuka'…" A _gulp_ was heard from somewhere in the semi-circle-shaped crown of Tasen, as well as a couple of mildly metallic steps backwards. The sister of Dan sighed, letting out some of her frustration, and said, "Geez, it's _fine_ , Yuka'. Just a little bit stressed at this, is all. I was feeling really bored myself until an hour or two ago, myself." A none too relieved _sigh_ left that same Tasen's mouth. "Right, then. So, what do you want me to do about this? Something about sending me through the teleporter to fix the problem like last time?"

"Indeed, Anomaly," said another Tasen, this one being only about a foot higher than the human compared to the Elites and sporting a large, claw-shaped object taking up where its left arm would be, with a gun-like apparatus mounted on its right. Speaking from the lavender-colored helmet, he, if the voice was anything to go by, said, "Basically, yes. We actually went and sent a camera through ahead of time, unlike with that whole Sector Z fiasco." The woman let out a soft chuckle, saying, "Good to see that we learn from our mistakes… What did you see on the other side?"

"Well, as far as we can tell – which, mind you, wasn't a whole lot – the place that it ended up in was just a plain old room. There isn't really a whole lot to say, besides the fact that is was rather bland-looking, what with all of the white. The only thing we found of note was the presence of a fancy-looking door off to the right, as if it were a part of some complex or building rather than just a room adrift in space or some such." He laughed briefly. "The symbol on the door itself, though, was really weird. It's like a circle, but with these two lines going through it at seemingly random points, meeting and crossing in the bottom left section of it." The woman nodded her head, contemplating this information, before stating, "I guess I may as well go on ahead, then. Don't want even more blue and black, gravity-defying blocks or pixelated, white machines coming in here and giving us concussions again, eh?" Most of the people present laughed at her wisecrack, though a few just shook their respective heads. Getting knocked on the head with an object going eighty-odd kilometers per hour was decidedly _not_ fun, even with Nanotech-enhanced helmets blocking out a great chunk of the force.

Before proceeding, however, the young woman saw fit to grab herself some equipment, just in case – the most notable of which being her large, Komato GEN2 Replica Nanogun, which was considered to be an extremely rare weapon by both the Tasen and their sworn enemy, the Komato, the reason being that it was capable of storing nearly two _dozen_ weapons at once, some examples including a Shotgun, Machine Gun, Rocket Launcher, and even the projectile-reflecting Resonance Reflector. It also probably helped that it was capable of switching between these weapons at a very rapid rate, ranging anywhere from one to five seconds depending on the actual weapon selected. The thing's appearance was entirely black, with two handles being present an equal distance from their respective ends. It was quite angular at several points, as well, slanting up and down to give it a comparatively odd appearance to most human weaponry. On most any person, it would be quite unwieldy, but, with the Anomaly's Nanotech-enhanced strength and above average height, it was hardly that much of a problem.

Walking up to the telepad, Nanogun in hands, she hesitated a moment, waving to her friends, human or otherwise, before stepping on it, a _whoosh_ of air briefly whipping up around her, a bright white flash ensuing as she vanished from sight, as well as her universe. Not that any of them realized this, of course. Ansaksie, the Tasen, and Dan all stood around for a moment, before the only human left present voiced nearly all of their thoughts for them:

"Good luck, Iji. Come home safe…"


	2. Chapter One: Strange Encounters

_Author_ ' _s_ _Note_ :

Moving right along, we come to Chapter One (which is actually the second; a tad confusing, I know). Here is where the story truly starts to kick off; in the initial encounters…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter One: Strange Encounters

* * *

Cue music – _Iji_ soundtrack – _Kinda Green_

A flash temporarily lit up the dark room, letting Iji become aware of the contents of it as she was teleported in. It was just as that Tasen said; the room was rather nondescript, with simple, white tiles covering all of the walls, ceiling, and floor. The door sported the strange insignia that that same Tasen talked about, as well, and she stepped forward to take a look. Indeed, it appeared to be a circle with two chords that intersected in the bottom left area. She wondered what organization this thing was supposed to represent, if it actually _did_ represent anything to begin with. Taking the silver doorknob in her right hand, temporarily putting the Nanogun in her left, she slowly tilted it, before opening the door. She cautiously stepped out of the boundary of the room, Nanogun re-taking its position in both of her hands. The hallway she stepped into, as it indeed appeared to be just that, had a similar appearance in general to the room she was just in, with the exception of the lights that appeared to be hanging from the ceiling. They could almost be considered old-fashioned (at least, from the perspective of someone who lives in the year of 2018), what with the use of apparent plastic and light bulbs. She noted that all of them were off, which tipped her off to the fact that it was most likely night at the moment. ' _Hope I_ ' _m not waking anybody up here_ …' She then corrected her thoughts: ' _Well, assuming that anybody lives here to_ begin with, _and that they_ ' _re diurnal like me_.'

She shook her head, getting herself back on track. Walking forward as silently as possible, as to not alert anybody to her presence, she proceeded toward the stairs, taking note of the presence of a fanciful red carpet with gold outlines on it. Creeping up each stair in the most silent manner she could, assisted with the silencing effects of the rug Iji climbed, reaching a longer, more grandiose-looking hall than the one that she was just in after a solid minute of turtle-like pacing. Windows were present on the walls, with the blue light of the night and the moon beaming in from them, with their actual presence alternating on each side with the doors, all of which having both a Roman numeral number and the insignia from earlier on it. Quickly identifying the doors as thirty-one through thirty-six, with her being closest to door thirty-six, she hesitantly moved toward, still pacing herself as slowly as she could…

Until a door opened to her right, a "Fwoosh" of air following almost immediately after. She completely froze in her tracks, slowly glancing over to door thirty-six. It was opened, if only slightly, with aqua-colored light streaming out from it, and a couple of clouds of near-comical-looking, compressed air just finishing vanishing in front of it. Quirking a brow, she muttered to herself, "What the…?" Then, as if from nowhere, she felt the coldness of water against the back of her neck; it felt oddly solid, however. A drawn-out "Greee…" could be heard from behind her…

The Ninja Pokémon awoke from its slumber quickly, hearing the sounds of footsteps from the hall that its room was connected to. Swiftly deciding on a course of action, that being to investigate, as the others he lived with in the building would practically never venture down here at this time of night, it silently wandered over to the door, opening it in an equally quiet manner. Doing so slowly, it glanced out, taking note of the unfamiliar being in the hallway; it was seemingly human, female, judging by the chest and waist, with an above average height. The Pokémon estimated her to be more than two feet taller than him, which, considering his own four-foot-eleven height, wouldn't be saying a whole lot, were it not for the fact that she was approximately six feet tall as a result; certainly tall by most standards, especially his. She wore a green shirt with no outward folds for her arms to protrude from, just holes in the sides, as well as ankle-long black pants and a matching pair of shoes, with the former having large, gray pockets on the front, with two on each leg. She also had long, brown hair, which flowed all the way to just above her waist line (though it was just a bit scruffy-looking), as well as some rather stunning green eyes. She bore a skin complexion similar to most of the other humans who lived in the building with it. What he took note above all else, however, was the large, black object she gripped in the both of her hands; he had never seen such a contraption before, though, judging by the large hole in the front of it, he could infer that it was meant to launch something. _What_ , however, was the question for it. It did not have the time to figure that out, however; the human was already turning towards the door, and, using Shadow Sneak, he vanished from that spot, re-appearing behind her. Taking a few steps forward, he formed a blade of water, brandishing it in one frog-like hand, before dashing forward and pressing it to the nape of her neck. He let out a threatening "Greee…"

' _Damn_! _How did_ …!?' she silently cursed, wondering how anything short of the teleport-spamming Komato Assassins could possibly be so fast. She didn't have the time to ponder this, however; slowly turning her head as to face whoever was behind her, she was greeted with a strange sight: a bipedal, frog-like entity was standing on the tips of its three toes, holding a water blade in a hand and pressing it to one of any human's most vital weak spots: the neck. It came in various shades of blue, with a touch of yellow here and there. What was seemingly a scarf was draped around its neck, and its pink-red eyes gazed upon her, narrowed slightly. ' _Kinda looks like a ninja_ …' she thought.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she said, as calmly as a person being threatened by a man-like frog could be, "All right. I don't want any violence; I'll put the gun down…" The frog-thing nodded, still pressing the liquid blade to her nape even as she bent down to put the weapon on the floor. She put her hands in the air immediately after, slowly rising back up. The thing nodded its head once, backing off two steps, deeming her to no longer be a threat, letting go of the blade it had. Said object vanished into vapor not a second later. She turned around slowly to face it completely, letting her hands down in a sluggish manner as to not provoke it, finally able to take in the finer details of her assaulter. This was hardly her first experience with aliens, even _if_ they looked nothing like this one in particular, so she recovered quickly from her mild shock. After a minute or so of gazing at each other, Iji spoke: "Well, this is getting awkward." The ninja-like being nodded its head in agreement, its posture relaxing a tad.

"Gre," it let out. Iji immediately wondered why it spoke like that before getting back on the proper train of thought, saying, "Well, what now?" The more or less frog-human hybrid put a hand (or appendage that looked like it, at any rate) to its scarf, before seemingly coming to an epiphany, gesturing for her to pick up her Nanogun. She quickly interpreted its meaning, asking of it, "Woah. You already trust me that much?" It nodded, though it seemed a little miffed at the language barrier; if it could, it would tell her that she put herself at its mercy with only a small amount of hesitance, and that it could thusly tell that she was telling the truth that she was a person who avoided violence when possible. It liked to consider itself a good judge of character, after all. When she picked her weapon back up, it gesticulated for her to go towards the door at the other end of the hall; she complied without hesitance, with the Pokémon following a comfortable distance behind her. Unbeknownst to them, door thirty-four opened just as the exited, a stark-white head with a pair of purple eyes peering through the entrance to the room and gazing after them as they left…

They passed through a couple of halls, during which the human occasionally peered outside through the windows; indeed, it appeared to be night outside, with a large amount of grass and shrubbery present all around the area of the housing in an organized manner. She even spotted the occasional flower. ' _Probably not my world_ , _then_ … _Our world is too devastated to have these sorts of things, unless if this happens to be a secluded place that_ ' _s inhabited by a bunch of mutants_.' She let out a small chuckle at that last part, with the mostly blue being looking at her strangely as a result, as if to inquire what she suddenly found to be so funny. She responded to the unasked question, "Ah, sorry. It's probably something you wouldn't get." It shook its head, thinking to itself, ' _Humans_. _Weird, weird humans_ …'

A couple of minutes of peaceful walking later (with Iji swearing that she heard a series of loud snores coming from a few of the doors that they passed by), and the strange pair came upon an undeniably grand door, what with its red on gold color scheme. It also probably helped that it was at _least_ a dozen feet tall; what manner of being could be so large as to require such a massive door, she could only guess at. She was about to find out, however, as the frog-ish being politely knocked on the right door twice. A few grumbles could be heard from the room, and, a few seconds later, the door swung inward, revealing what could only be described as an incredibly large hand; a right one, to be more specific, judging by the position of the thumb. "It's nearly two o'clock; what is so important as to need me to get up at such an hour!?" it spoke in a masculine voice, irritance prominent in its tone. The Pokémon of the group simply waved over to Iji.

Her mouth was wide open, very clearly flabbergasted at the sight before her. She could take human-looking, armored aliens, sure, and she could even take what seemed to be a frog-human hybrid with water-bending powers after a short while, but she could _not_ take a giant, gloved hand floating without any assistance that had the ability to speak _without a mouth_. "I… Uh... Wh-Wha'…" The hand just seemed to take her reaction in stride. "Oh, we've another guest, I see! You've no need to be afraid of me. I may be the strangest thing you will ever see in your life time, but that doesn't mean that I'm hostile." It - or he, judging by the tone - bended its shape as if to cup his non-existent chin. "Well, _immediately_ , at least. We will have to see about that last part." It waved the Ninja Pokémon off. "You may return to your rest, Greninja. I shall handle things from here." It nodded, scarf flowing with its head, reassuringly waving at the female human, before it departed back to its room at a near-sprinting pace, opening the doors and closing them behind itself in a surprisingly quiet manner.

"Well, then, human, if that is indeed what you are…" it said, drifting over behind Iji and gently shoving her into the room with an index finger, much to her mixed chagrin and surprise (she was still getting over the concept of the massive hand's mere existence), "I believe that we have much to discuss…!"


	3. Chapter Two: Introductions

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Welp, I'm getting these chapters out faster than anticipated. Doubtless that I'll slow down the pace eventually, but here's to hoping that I can keep the pace up, regardless!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Two: Introductions

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _All That Can Wait_

"Take all of the time you need. I know that I'm quite the sight to behold!" the gargantuan hand spoke, sounding bemused at Iji's shock. The human nodded, still attempting (as she had been for the past five or so minutes) to get over her shock. Letting out a few, final deep breaths, she finally calmed herself. "Alright. I think that I'm good, now…" ' _Key word here being_ think,' she thought. The appendage expressed his pleasure by giving her a thumbs up - or, rather, a _thumb_ up, which Iji found to be inexplicably amusing. "Very good. I believe that the first step in most conversations in initial meetings is to greet introduce ourselves, miss…?"

Iji. Iji Kataiser." The hand reset itself into a position which most human hands would consider idle, or not currently in use. "You may call me Master Hand." It held out a finger to the relatively young woman, with Iji looking quizzically at the offered appendage. "You're supposed to shake it." She let out a small "Ah," taking it in her hands and firmly shaking it, propping her Nanogun (which she completely forgot that she still had in her hands in her befuddlement) against the rather fanciful table. A second of this later, and the two separated. "Alright then, Miss Iji. What might you be doing in the World of Trophies? You don't exactly come here by _accident_ , you see, outside of freakish dimensional anomalies." The human looked rather sheepish, and launched into her explanation:

"Well, there was this one time, almost a week back, where a teleporter went on the fritz. It's funny that you'd mention dimensional anomalies, because that's pretty much what happened; this one bored Tasen hacker - they're aliens that look a bit like us humans, by the way - got the _amazingly_ bright idea to enter in random co-ordinates into a telepad, and it connected to this place called Sector Z. Don't ask me about that place in detail; it was _really_ weird, and I don't want to talk about it." A thumb up from the hand. "Right, so nothing was really going on with it for the first few days it was active – we couldn't turn it off outside of blowing it up, you see - but then, some strange things started to happen. The space around it seemed to… oh, I don't know, _warp_ , and these things started to come through. A bunch of blue, transparent blocks, some very blocky looking machines, and even these cute, yet very _lethal_ aliens." She let out a small chuckle. "There was this one Tasen who ended up getting a concussion from one of those things; came at him at around forty kilometers an hour, I would guess. The helmet didn't really help at all, even with its hardness." A brief, awkward cough left her mouth, and she got herself back on track.

"Anyway, we couldn't really let this continue, as we didn't know what would happen if we didn't do anything about it. Well, besides head injuries, that is. So, my bro, Dan, got the idea of sending me through the telepad to fix the problem. It took a few hours of blowing through mechanical drones and cute, blobby little aliens to do so, but I came back in the end, pretty much unharmed."

"But what might that have to do with this?" Master Hand asked, appearing genuinely curious. The human's features became mildly frustrated, but she answered, regardless:

"Well, this _other_ hacker, Yukabacera, essentially did the same thing that other Tasen did: got bored, and hacked in some random co-ordinates to a telepad. And _what do you know_! This one connected, as well. We didn't really want a repeat of that whole Sector Z thing, so I went through again, and here I am, talking to you. What I don't get, though, is how that telepad connected to yours, even though they were clearly designed differently from ours."

The hand somehow looked pensive for a few seconds, before snapping its fingers, as if coming to an epiphany. "Well, I would imagine that our teleporters _would_ probably be compatible with yours, seeing as how they were specifically designed with receiving signals from other dimensions intentionally in mind, regardless of the differing models. Which, coincidentally enough, leads me right into this question: do you want to know what this place's purpose is?" The green-eyed human thought for about a minute, and then responded, "Why not?"

The hand was quite pleased at this. "Good. So, to simplify, this place is where warriors of several different dimensions come to meet and do battle." The human's features crossed with worry. "Oh, don't you fret; I make _absolutely certain_ that these feuds are completely non-lethal, I assure you of this." Iji was none too relieved at this; she was _not_ a fan of the concept of killing, _especially_ with what she had went through as of late.

"Why do people come here?" The hand seemed gladdened at her inquiry.

"Well, they come for a variety of reasons. At first, there were only twelve combatants, and I sent invitations for this place to them, making sure to do so only when they were free of doing some other, ah… _important_ tasks. I would imagine that they came because, at that point in time, they were rather bored. All of these twelve were rather… how to put it, _heroic_? Yes, _heroic_ , so they thusly became fast friends rather quickly, with only one exception. With any luck, you may meet her at some point." At Iji's curious glance, the hand twirled around a bit, and got back on track. "Time passes, however, and, as such, the first "Super Smash Brothers" meeting came to a close. With more time, however, I decided to host a second meeting of fighters, with the roster more than doubling in comparison to the previous one. Some came because they knew that old friends would be there, some came to settle a score or two in semi-friendly combat, and some still came because they were simply with nothing to do, as with the first Super Smash Brothers. And so that pattern of recruitment and meeting continues to today; the fourth Super Smash Brothers is set to begin in just a week, in fact!" Iji put her chin in her knuckles.

"So, what you're basically saying is that this place is for non-deadly fighting, then?" The right hand gave her another thumb up.

"You would be correct."

"And that this happens merely because most of the participants are _bored_?" The hand somehow managed a sheepish look.

"Well… It also probably helps that the more "official" matches are broadcasted to incredibly large crowds, and that most of these characters are famous in some respect or another. Even a being such as myself needs money to make a living, after all!" The human was flabbergasted, and understandably so. Why - and _how_ \- a giant, floating hand need something like _money_ was beyond her, as least at the moment. The human, on the other hand, got over the hand's antics, and appeared to reach a conclusion.

"Okay, so I've figured out that this place isn't a threat, at least for now. That's all I really needed to know, though I suppose that it was nice meeting you, as well as that frog-thing…"

"Greninja. He is a Smasher - and, yes, it is indeed male - as I like to call them." The human looked none too amused at his naming of the competitors (or the Pokémon; his name _was_ rather silly, after all).

"Right, right. I guess that I'll be heading back to my world, then," she said, getting up from her admittedly comfortable chair, taking her Nanogun back in the process. The hand let out a small "Hmm", before she could leave, however.

"Actually, I've a proposition to make." The human quizzically raised a brow, turning around from the direction of the door. "Would you mind if I came with you? To your world, I mean?" Iji was shocked by his undeniably sudden request.

"Wha' – _Why_?"

"Well, this place, as you may or may not have seen, is rather technologically advanced. Some may call it pirating or stealing, but I, on occasion, visit other worlds, taking note of their advances and copying their concepts into the building you currently stand in. As you may guess from this statement, I am curious as to how your world is doing in this regard, and to see if I may take some of your technology and put it to use for the Smash Brothers gatherings. It's mostly for convenience and comfort for the combatants, though I like to think that I put some rather ingenious tricks to use while assembling the various battle stages." The appendage snapped its fingers, and an image took shape a foot or so away. It features a platform with constantly shifting features, and a planet and star seeming to be some distance away from it, with said objects seeming to be only a small distance apart from each other. Iji took a decently long glance at it, and nodded her head.

"Yeah, that looks pretty cool, I admit." Another snap, and the image vanished. The hand prepared another snap, but Iji cut him off, saying, "Yeah, you've proved your point."

The hand managed to make himself look grateful (again, somehow), and said, "Thank you for this!" The human, however, did not particularly share his passion.

"I've got to warn you, though; my world is… not exactly at its best."

"Oh? In what ways do you mean?"

The human looked reluctant to elaborate, and answered, "Trust me when I say that you'll see when you get there…" Her features were grim, and aptly so, considering what she was going to be showing the hand to…


	4. Chapter Three: Realities and Hope

_Author_ ' _s_ _Note_ :

Well, here I am again. It's always such a pleasure. Remember when you tried to -

Okay, now is decidedly _not_ the time for _Portal_ references. This is the second-to-last "introduction" chapter, as it were, and, after the next, we begin to get into the slice-of-life chapters, which I am planning to have take up most of this story. Again, there _will_ be plot on occasion, for those who are a bit more action-centric, but I feel as if this is style of story-telling is one that I could derive more pleasure in writing from.

Also, thank you, Anonymous Guest, as well as Emerald Dynamo, for the Review and Follow, respectively!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Three: Realities and Hope

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _All That Can Wait_

"Alright, then. The teleporter should be good to go," said Master Hand, with a snap of his fingers.

"Okay… There's a chance that some friends of my and Bro are going to be there to welcome me back, and that they're going to react, ah… _strongly_ when you come through with me. Please, don't do anything violent, yourself, if it comes to that."

Master Hand waved nonchalantly. "Oh, it should be no problem. I've dealt with these sorts of things plenty of times. Around fifty, in fact! Besides that, though, I'm quite powerful. It comes with being an over-lord of a universe, you see!" Iji had not realized this before (and understandably so), and suddenly got the urge to ask him why he had not told her such valuable information earlier in a relatively rude manner. She resisted, however, and merely shook her head, instead.

"Also, could you wait a couple minutes before coming through, yourself? I want to prepare everyone for your entrance." The appendage gave a thumb up in affirmation. Nodding her head, Iji stepped onto the teleporter and vanished from the World of Trophies, with hand doing the same the requested amount of time later by putting an index finger on it.

A "Whoosh" of air, and Iji was back on Earth, near-perfectly safe and sound. A few Tasen, Ansaksie, as well as Dan were lounging around, most on chairs, though Ansaksie was instead leaning against a wall, arms crossed and helmeted head tilted downwards, as though she was asleep. For all anyone knew, she very well _could_ be, what with the helmet hiding all of her features. The Tasen and especially Dan sprang into action, rapidly getting up and moving towards her person, the latter enveloping her in a tight hug. The only Komato in the room just shook her head. She decidedly wasn't a fan of these overly corny, sweet scenes. "Good to see you're all right, Sis!" The two separated, with Dan continuing, "Well, how was it? Was there anything strange going on, and is that place a threat at all?" Iji shook her head. " _Definitely_ a yes on the first one, and no on the second. As far as I can tell, at least." She raised her voice a tad, as to make sure that everyone else could hear her. "Listen up, everyone! I've got a guest coming through with me, and we'd both appreciate it if you'd _not_ over-react!" Everyone but Ansaksie either nodded their heads, or grunted in affirmation.

Another minute later, and the aforementioned guest appeared. Predictably, there were a large amount of gasps and an even larger amount of stares (not that anyone could really tell on the latter, as the only ones not wearing helmets were the human siblings and Master Hand). Even Ansaksie, the ever-stout and serious one, gave her own small intake of breath in surprise. Everyone did as Iji requested, however, not doing something like immediately drawing their weapons or otherwise attempting to maim him. The hand let out a miniscule cough, addressing the relatively small crowd of mixed species: "Greetings, humans, Tasen, and otherwise! I am known as Master Hand, and it is my pleasure to meet you all!" Everyone continued to gape, even as Iji translated his words into the Tasen-Komato language, with a nearby Tasen Elite mumbling in the language of the Tasen, "What in the Zentraidon is going on…!?"

Iji let out a small cough of her own, and said, "Yeah… This is why I told you all not to over-react. He's a giant, floating, gloved hand that can somehow speak without a mouth." She shrugged, attempting to get her (notably feigned) casualness across the group. "He's friendly, though. Just don't try shooting him or something, and he shouldn't attack you." She leaned over a bit, asking of him in a tiny voice, "You won't, right?"

"Yes, yes, I will not," he whispered back. Master Hand raised his voice again, speaking, "It has come to my attention that you are in possession of some rather advanced technology?" A few of the aliens backed away, though an evidently brave Tasen Commander near the front nodded his head shakily after Iji translated his words into the alien tongue. "Good! What I ask of you all is a trade; your technology, for the sake of the comfort and otherwise safety of my universe, in exchange for…" The hand halted himself abruptly. "For… For… Oh, _dear_ , I didn't quite think this one through all the way…" This unintentional mistake on the hand's part actually broke a bit of the ice between the them, with Dan chuckling lightly. The Tasen and the singular Komato in the room merely gazed on, uncomprehending Master Hand's words until the woman translated (after a snort of contained laughter on her part, of course). This got them laughing a bit, as well. The hand clenched himself into a fist in what seemed to be indignation, but he calmed himself, saying, after a sigh, "You know what? I believe that I shall come up with something eventually. For now, though, how about you bunch show me around your living space, and demonstrate some of your technology to me afterwards?"

None of them looked to certain at his request. Iji made the decision for them, saying, "Yeah, sure. Let me and Dan show you around." She then addressed the others: "You can all follow along if you want, though I guess that you can stay behind of do something by yourself if you want to." All but three of the people in the crowd were immensely relieved by this kind offer of Iji's, with those three being Dan, Ansaksie, and one of the Elites, all of which stepping forward to follow their path. Iji nodded, and, with a slightly longer glance at her brother than the Assassin and the Elite, said, "Follow us, then."

Everyone went flowing out of Deep Sector, most through the ladder to the left of the Lift at the exit of the area, with the other five beings going through a telepad. Ending up in a room with a similar color scheme of deep green, indicating that they were officially in Sector Nine rather than Deep Sector, Iji guided them out, walking over to another teleporter. "We've set up some teleporters here to let us go throughout the entire facility without needing to walk too much," Dan explained. He appeared to think for a second on Iji's path, and continued, "Looks like we're heading over to Sector Three. It's a good place to practice your ability to correctly wield weapons and learn how to use them efficiently, as there are a lot of rooms in that area designed solely for testing new weaponry. It's also a good place to get a look outside; though, as of recently, the visas haven't exactly been the greatest…" He let out a depressed sigh. "You'll see when we get outside, Master Hand." Said being let of a "Hmm" of assertion.

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Welcome to the Party_ , _Pal_

Five consecutive flashes later, and they were now in Sector Three. In overall appearance, it was hardly any different from any other place in the massive research complex, with the exception of its coloration, which was a shade of red that could almost be mistaken for lavender. Iji gestured for her four followers to come with her, all of them complying without hesitation. Jumping down a few small ledges and climbing down ladders when necessary, they traversed the area, with the disembodied appendage occasionally whirling itself around, as if to take in every feature of the place. A few minutes of this later, and they were in a massive lobby-like room, a few windows present on the higher sections of the walls. "Okay, then, Master Hand. I say that we get to the most practical use of our machinery, which, by the way, is called "Nanotechnology"," proclaimed Dan, walking into a closet. After carrying out a somewhat large amount of wooden and metal crates (which were thankfully empty) with the help of an Elite, they set them down in the center of the room, or, at least, close enough to not be of any true difference. "Alright, then. I'd say that we should start out with the more basic Nanoweapons. Iji, put your weapon on Shotgun and use it on that crate, please." She did so, a mechanical-sounding "Click" ensuing from her Nanogun, before she took aim and fired. For what was a supposedly a shotgun, it was rather quiet, being only about half as loud as any other human-produced shotgun-type weapon. Master Hand floated on over to the crate, noticing eight large holes in it.

"Deadly," he commented, "but certainly something I've seen many times before." Dan and Iji merely smirked.

"Yeah, but, again, that's pretty much the very basics of the weapons Sis has. Machine Gun next, Iji." Another "Click", and she fired, holding down the trigger of her weapon for a good five seconds. The crate she was shooting at fell apart after that time, with more holes than Master Hand cared to count in what was left of it. "Now for the Rocket Launcher." It was indeed what Master Hand would've guessed, as least in concept: a large, brown rocket erupted from the nozzle of Iji's gun, a smoke trail coming from its flames as it went fourth, blowing up in a man-sized explosion and destroying a half-dozen crates. "It also has Spread Rockets…" Three missiles came fourth this time, tripling the area of destruction and annihilating thrice as many crates. "… as well as an MPFB Devastator." Three torso-sized, glowing, crystalline spheres came from the barrel, blowing up in large, bright-blue explosions, destroying roughly thirty crates each. Iji actually lost her footing and nearly fell over, presumably due to the weapon's huge kick-back force.

"The MPFB stands for Magnetically Propelled Fission Bomb. Needless to say, it's pretty deadly, especially since it fires three of them at once," elaborated the Tasen Elite. Iji and Dan let out a small chuckle. Ansaksie shook her head. Master Hand let out another "Hmm" once Iji translated for him, appearing to be more and more interested by the second.

"Now for some more complex weapons," said Dan. "The Resonance Detonator, if you could, Sis?" Walking forward, Iji pulled the trigger, a sphere of purple enveloping her person. Not a second later, the crates in front of her were knocked over, having either large dents or equally large holes in them. "It's essentially a sphere that shoves things around, with the actual strength of it being as strong as the person using it. Thanks to her Nanomachines, Iji is quite strong, so she can thusly use it really well. Now for the Resonance Reflector. You there, Elite, mind firing a Rocket at her?" She seemed unconcerned that she was about to get hit by a Rocket, but this nonchalance was well-founded; a sphere, similar to the previous weapon, except for its yellow glow, came into existence, with the Rocket suddenly reversing its direction upon contact with it. The Elite dodged to the side to avoid its new trajectory. "I'd say that one ought to be self-explanatory, especially with the "Reflector" part. The Pulse Cannon is next…" Iji fired upon another pile of crates, with it being blown to pieces by the force of the small, glowing, green projectiles. "Like the Resonance Detonator, its power is determined by the user's strength. The Shocksplinter…" A red projectile blew yet another stack of crates into bite-sized pieces. "… is fairly similar to the Rocket Launcher in use. It sends smaller explosions into the air around it upon contact with anything solid, however, which makes it that bit more lethal. The CFIS is next, and, well…" A beam of what appeared to be electricity was emitted from the barrel of the Nanogun, practically _atomizing_ all of the boxes in its immediate vicinity. "… it's complicated. I think all that you need to know is that it's _really deadly_. And lastly, we have the Velocithor V2-10. You're probably going to want to get a dozen or so feet behind Iji. Cover your ears, too." They did so, and quickly, as all of them but Master Hand knew that what was coming next was rather spectacular. Iji pulled the trigger, and an extremely loud " _Boom_ " rang out, a man-sized, yellow-white beam bursting fourth. Massive amounts of smoke bellowed from some new-found holes in the sides of the Nanogun. She only held the trigger for a second; that was all she needed to show off its power, and she also liked _not being deaf_. "As you can see," said Dan, after taking his fingers out of his ears, "it's a truly _frightening_ thing to behold. As you can see, that wall now has a _gaping hole_ in it. She fired that thing for a _single second_ , and it tore a hole clean through several inches of re-enforced concrete, and probably the wall a good quarter-mile away, too."

Master Hand merely said, "Interesting… Very interesting. Those last weapons are things I've not seen previously, which, considering my age, is saying quite a lot. I think that this "Nanotechnology" holds much promise in for me in many aspects." He waggled a finger, as if correcting someone in a classroom, with him being the educator "And not the ones centered around killing; don't you all worry about that! However, Dan, you were saying earlier that the visas were rather poor. Would you mind if I took a look, and figure out why?"

Iji answered for her brother, "Um - I don't think that that's a good idea, Master Hand… We won't stop you, but, well… It's not exactly very pleasant outside…" He considered her point, but elected to open the nearby door and venture outside, anyways.

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Glass Soldier_

Sunlight touched the hand for the first time in this new world, and he looked around, taking note of the dead, black grass fields and ash-coated roads. He audibly gasped when he looked up at the sky; the clouds were outlined in orange and gray, the sky slowly being tinted with a blood-red hue from its original orange coloration as the sun set. "What manner of travesty happened to this place…!?" he questioned, genuinely shocked.

"The Tasen." Master Hand hadn't even realized that Iji had stepped outside with him. "They were running from this other race, the Komato. The Komato were going to kill all of them, so they used a bunch of space-to-ground lasers to kill as much life as possible without ruining the atmosphere to make this planet their own and hide from them. They over-estimated the power they needed in the strike, however, and this is the result: a world nearly barren of all life." She let out a sigh, closing her eyes as if to stifle tears. "So many people died, including Dad and Sis…" She exhaled again, opening her eyes, wiping at them a bit in the process. "The only people who we know are alive are _us_ , living in this research building. There are probably more out there, somewhere, just hanging on to life. They're so far away, though, and we have no way to find them without any functioning vehicles… We also probably can't last too long, ourselves, what with our limited food supplies and fields that will yield no food… At this point, we're just scavenging around the building, looking for food, eating gross energy bars and taking in hot drinks…" The hand let out another "Hmm", seeming to come to a conclusion about something.

"I have decided. In exchange for your Nanotechnology, I shall send you supplies to begin mending your world."

"Wh - _really_?" she asked, understandably shocked at his sudden generosity.

"Indeed. However, I ask another, simple thing of you in return."

"Yeah? What is it?" she inquired, eager for the opportunity to set things right in her world.

"You shall also fight in the Super Smash Brothers battles."

" _What_!?"

Master Hand elaborated: "I see that you have a large amount of talent for fighting, whether you realize it or not. You need not deny it. With this, as well as your large variety of weapons, I feel that you would be capable of matching most of the combatants of the Smash meetings." He pointed his index finger directly at her face.

"Do you accept this deal, then, Iji Kataiser? Your world for your Nanotechnology and fighting prowess?"

The human needn't have even thought for a moment.

"Yeah. I accept."

The hand was gladdened by her response, with Iji taking the offered finger into her hand and shaking it in a firm, certain grip. "Then welcome to the ranks of the Super Smash Brothers."


	5. Chapter Four: Initialization

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Well, here is yet _another_ chapter up! _Man_ , relatively speaking, I am gunning these out quite fast… Again, though, the pacing of uploads will probably slow down eventually, but, _also_ again, here's to hoping that I can keep it up for as long as possible!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Four: Initialization

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Make Your Mind Up_

The two humans were walking through Deep Sector, back to the teleporter Iji went through a few hours ago, around a half an hour after the deal between human and hand was sealed. "Are you sure about this, Sis?" he asked worriedly.

"For the _hundredth time_ , Bro, _yes_ , I am!" she responded, mildly irritated by her sibling's incessancy. "Don't _you_ want to restore the Earth?" Her brother gave a sigh.

"Yeah, but not at the cost of losing _you_!"

"I've _also_ told you, I'm allowed to come home whenever I want!" Dan sighed again.

"Fine, fine. I can see that you won't be swayed."

" _Finally_ , you acknowledge it!"

"I still want you to come back frequently, though, Iji!"

Iji gave let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, I will." They were back at the telepad that Iji went through to get to the World of Trophies, with the hand fiddling with it a bit, probably to ascertain whether it was still set to go there. "Now, are _you_ sure that you'll be all right, Bro?" she asked of him, putting both hands on her little brother's shoulders.

He let out a laugh of his own before responding, "Well, to quote you: "Yeah, yeah, I will.'"

"It would seem as if this telepad is still set for the World of Trophies. Are you all ready to go, Iji?" Master Hand spoke up, interrupting their little moment.

A brief moment of thought from the human, before she answered, "Yeah, it seems so. One thing before I go, Dan…"

"Hmm?"

He was enveloped in a hug, almost bone-crushing in strength. "Stay safe, Bro," Iji murmured. He quickly and gladly returned the hug.

"Heh. You bet I will, and so will the rest of us here." If Master Hand had a mouth, he would likely be smiling broadly at the sight of comradery between the two. The pair eventually separated, Iji glancing back one last time, and waved, with Dan doing the same, before she stepped on the teleporter, leaving Earth and heading to the World yet again, the hand following after her with a wave of his own…

And, with an all too familiar "Whoosh", she was in the World of Trophies yet again. She stepped off of the telepad, the hand appearing behind her shortly afterward. Master Hand opened the door and floated out of the room, Iji following after nary a second of hesitation. Master Hand began, "Well, I suppose that the first thing to do would be to find some accommodations for you to live in for your stay here. We have plenty of rooms, but we also have a fairly large number of participants, so they are all taken. Chances are that you'll have to be sharing a room with someone while we get another room constructed for you, which'll most likely take a few days." Iji nodded her head, understanding the predicament at… _hand_ , for the hand (Iji was sorely tempted to chuckle at her word play, but barely managed to refrain).

"I understand. So, then, any idea as to who I'll be bunking with?"

The hand entered a pensive state for several seconds, before answering the human, "I believe do, actually. I hardly think that you two are the best of matches, but the one you'll be paired up with needs companions whether he realizes it or not, and _badly_." The human nodded, wondering who - and _what_ – this new person would be like. "Before that, however, we need to return to my office. I'll be needing to you to fill out a few papers, as to officiate your stay here, you see." Iji nodded a second time. A quick glance out the windows confirmed that it was still night out, and, judging by the similar lighting, they weren't long for gone, as well. Another few minutes of traversing the manor-like building, and the undeniably odd pair of beings were in the aforementioned office, with the hand pulling out a few papers from a few cabinets, handing them over to Iji after a quick sift through them to confirm that they were the proper ones. "Read them and put your name on the first one, if you would be so kind." She did so; the first paper was a contract, going over the details of the deal between the two of them. How, precisely, the hand produced this piece of paper oven though he had only met her a small number of hours ago was beyond her, though she brushed aside this line of thought, at least for the moment. The other papers were more or less just rule sheets, the more prominent ones they had being to not intentionally vandalize the mansion or maim anyone, and to simply not be a jerk to others, I.E. eating as much food as possible just to spite someone you don't like. "Do you agree to those rules, Iji?"

"I suppose so."

"Very good. Here is a map of the manor you shall be living in; trust me, you'll be needing it for the first week or two of staying here. This place is rather large, after all!" The human nodded her head yet again. "So, if you'll look around on the map, you'll find room Number Thirty-Four. That is where you shall be staying for the moment. That room's inhabitant is a tad violent, so, if you need help, just call for Greninja. He's quite literally next door, in Room Thirty-Six." She nodded her head for the fourth time. "You may leave now; I will call for you when I need you, which shall likely be at some point tomorrow." She let out a grunt of affirmation, getting up and walking back to the door to exit the room. "Oh yes. One more thing, Iji Kataiser."

"Yeah?"

"Please, do have patience with your room mate. He is not really used to the concept of friendship, and will likely attempt so push you away. Just try to be as passive and as friendly as possible, and you ought to be fine with him." With yet another nod, she left the room, with the hand seeming to relax a small amount, murmuring, "Finally, the opportunity to sleep again…"

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Hade Shade_

A few minutes of slowly walking, as to avoid waking anyone up like in her first visit, as well as several glances down at her map later, and she came upon Room Thirty-Four. She hesitantly knocked a few times, trying to make as little noise as possible, like with her walking. There was no response. She knocked a few more times, slightly louder this time. The clicks of a lock coming open became audible, and she stepped back a bit, slightly wary. The door slowly swung inwards, allowing her access to her room. She walked in slowly, not quite certain on what to expect.

The room was near-completely dark, the only source of light being a rather fancy-looking purple lamp that wasn't even all that bright. From what little she could discern, it was sitting on a wooden night stand, which was situated next to a bed with lavender sheets. They were folded neatly on it, almost as if no one was sitting on the bed tonight. ' _Or any recent nights_ ,' the human thought, a tad unnerved by the room's apparent lack of inhabitance and near-total darkness. Suddenly, however, there was a strange sound from behind her. Whirling around, hair flying, with Nanogun in hand, fingers on the trigger, she spotted… _no one_. "Who's there?" she inquired to the darkness, attempting to keep her voice as steady as possible to keep her fear from showing. "I know that you're here, whoever you are! Your little fright tactics aren't working on me!" She wondered who she was trying to convince: herself, or her stalker.

" _Oh,_ please _, human_. _I can tell that you_ ' _re afraid_. _Your fright is clear in your thoughts_." She jumped, taken off guard, both due to the unforeseen voice, as well as the fact that it resonated not in the room itself, but, rather, _in her head_. She looked all around the room, now beginning to truly feel the anxiety seeping into her chest.

"W-Who are you? Like I said, I _know_ that you're in here, somewhere!" A few seconds of complete silence passed.

"… _Hmm_. _You are most certainly afraid_ , _but not nearly as much as I had imagined_ ," the somewhat masculine, echo-y voice said, again in her head. There was another sound, this time the click of a switch, and the soft, purple light in the center of the ceiling lit up, revealing significantly more of the room to Iji. The walls were a shade of lavender so light that it could be mistaken for white, and the window on the wall opposite to the door was closed, the solid purple curtain letting no light in whatsoever. There was the sound of displaced air behind her, and she turned around yet again, finally beholding her new room mate.

The being was a strange one, to say the least of him; he was a stark white, with the exception of the bottom of his torso, as well as his somewhat large tail, which were a distinct purple. Two protrusions extend from his cat-like face, almost resembling ears. A tube-like object extended from the back of his head into the top of its spinal area, if he did, indeed, have one. Armor-like flesh covered its chest, and he had three fingers that ended in spheres rather than the stubs of the average human. The same could be said of his feet, for the most part; it had only two toes on each foot, both of which being relatively long. A pad could be seen on what was probably the equivalent of the inside of its heels, again almost resembling a cat's. His height practically towered over even the six-foot-tall woman, and his sharp, purple eyes stared upon her person. "Who – are _what_ – are you?" asked Iji, not really considering how rude the inquiry sounded.

" _To answer both of your questions_ , _little human_ : _I am Mewtwo_." She was unexpectedly hoisted a foot off of the ground, Nanogun forcibly leaving her grip and being flung to the ground in a purple aura, similar in appearance to the field that she was being wrapped in. A hand of Mewtwo's was enveloped in that same aura, stretching out and pointing in her direction. " _And_ why, exactly, _are you in my room unbidden_?"


	6. Chapter Five: Of Monsters and Men

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Well, school's finally out for me, as is my Sophomore year. As a result, you can expect a slightly more consistent rate of uploads. Keep in mind that that's not to say that my updates shall be even faster; it just means that I'm more likely to keep up the already speedy pace. That aside, though, I do hope that you enjoy this next chapter…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Five: Of Monsters and Men

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Hade Shade_

" _I shall ask again_ , human: _why are you in my room unbidden_?" Iji wondered just what she did to him to deserve this kind of treatment, and she voiced this thought out loud to Mewtwo: "W-What the Hell did I do to you to deserve this kind of reaction!?"

He glared at her fiercely. " _As I have said twice_ , _now_ : _being in here without my permission_! _Tell me_ why you are here, _or else_!" She glared back, equally as aggravated as he was.

"Yeah? Or else _what_?" A sudden, sharp, fever-like sensation entered her head, and she gasped in pain.

" _You_ ' _ve no idea what I can do to you_ , human, _mental or otherwise_." He flicked a finger, and she felt another lance of pain shoot through the joints of her limbs " _Will you talk_ now?" Once the pain left her systems, she let out a sigh, attempting to calm herself. ' _What am I_ doing!? _I could_ ' _ve just talked this out without this violence_!' A moment after that thought, she said, " _Fine_ , yes. Only if you put me down first, though!" The Genetic Pokémon glared continued his glaring before picking up her Nanogun and tossing it another several feet away. " _Very well_ , _human_. _If you try anything suspicious_ , _however_ …"

"Yeah, I got it; you'll probably maim me. Severely," she added in as an after-thought.

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _All That Can Wait_

He sluggishly put her back on the floor, and the purple aura around her vanished, leaving her free to move around of her own volition again. "All right. First of all, the name isn't _human_ ; it's _Iji_."

He nodded, saying in her head again in an uncaring tone, " _Hmm_."

She shook her head at his clearly evident rudeness. "Well, I'm apparently a new combatant here in this "Super Smash Brothers" meeting. My room is going to be built over the next few days, so I guess that I'm supposed to be your room mate until it's finished being constructed." Mewtwo looked none too aggravated at her reasoning.

" _You can_ not _be serious, human_." She shook her head, getting frustrated herself at his pragmatism. Remembering Master Hand's request to be as patient as possible around him, however, she managed to hold strong to her cool.

"I'm afraid that I am, which also means that you'll have to deal with me for the next week, or around there, at least." Mewtwo shook his own head, turning away from her. Once again remembering Master Hand's words, this time to try to make friends with him, she attempted to find a way to break the ice between them, fishing around in her head for an idea. A full minute of this later, however, and she still had nothing. A yawn broke out from her throat, and she only then realized that she was actually beginning to get quite tired. Mewtwo glanced over his shoulder at her at this. Iji elaborated upon her tiredness: "Sleep cycle's been off. Just last week, I didn't go to sleep for a whole fifty hours or so. Back in my world, it's actually around sunset." A small, frustrated sigh from the human. "Looks like I'm going to have to re-adjust my sleeping times. _Again_." Another yawn escaped from Iji. She stole a glance at the plush-looking bed of Mewtwo's room. "Mind if I steal your bed for the night?" she asked.

A brief silence ensued, broken, if only mentally, by Mewtwo's words: "… _I suppose so_. _I do not actually rest on it_." She let out a slightly groggy "Thanks," meandering over to the bed, lifting the covers up and putting herself beneath them, making herself as snug as possible before going to sleep, not bothering to take her clothes off at all. The Pokémon looked at her for a short while as she slept, seeming to ignore the barely audible snores, which were made loud and clear in the relative silence of the room. '… _She is a strange one_ ,' he pondered, ' _I can hardly sense any malicious intent at all in her_. _What business does she have with such a hugely lethal weapon on her person_ , _then_ , _if not to harm and kill_?' Indeed, he had gave the weapon a physic once-over, and found such deadly things as _fission bombs_ inside of it. He shook at head. ' _Blast it_! _Why am I wasting such thoughts on a mere_ human?' A ruffle of the curtains and a quick glance outside revealed that it was still very late at night, if the moon's position was anything to go by. ' _It_ ' _still quite late_ … _Better get back to sleep_ …' Positioning himself in a corner, he closed his eyes, floating in what could easily be called a fetal-like position. ' _I can ponder on that human further later_ …'

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Kinda Green_

The curtains in the room were dyed a shade of orange-ish-purple as the sun began to rise, indicating that morning had come to the World of Trophies. A few stretches from the cat-like being, and he was awake almost immediately. Keeping himself a few centimeters off the carpet, he floated over to the human, who was still completely asleep. He was momentarily tempted to preen into her dreams to find out the purpose of why she had the Nanogun when she did not use of for harm, but decided otherwise. ' _Memories and dreams are things not to be tampered with_ ,' he justified. He instead settled on grabbing Iji on the shoulder, shaking her a bit. " _Get up_ , _human_ ," he projected into her mind, " _morning has come_." A grunt of negative connotation.

"Dun' wanna'… Still too early…"

Mewtwo sighed aggravatingly before yanking her up with his telekinetic powers, saying, slightly louder this time, " _Get_. _Up_. Now." He dropped her to the floor once he saw her eyes, shock clear in them, where she landed on the (thankfully) soft carpet head-first, being that she was suspended upside-down a moment ago. A grunt of pain left her as she ungracefully flopped to the floor.

"Ow! Geez, warn me when you do that next time, at least!" She rubbed her head, which, fortunately, was not bruising up, doing the same to clear out the spots in her eyes once she was sure that the former wasn't happening. Putting a hand over her mouth as she yawned, she walked over to the corner of the room and picked her weapon up, asking of Mewtwo, "Well, since I'm up now, do you know where the showers are?" Mewtwo shook his head, but answered regardless, " _Down the hall and to your right_. _The_ _next_ _hall has what you are looking for_." Iji nodded her head, thanking him like last night, before strolling out, the door clicking shut as she left. " _Humans_ ," he thought a tad derisively, " _always so slow in the mornings_ …" He then posed himself, floating a couple of feet off the floor, and began his morning procedure, which always started with a session of meditation…

* * *

After cleaning herself up in the shower, Iji put her green and black clothes back on, and looked at herself in the mirror. ' _This hair is hard as Hell to comb_ , _but it_ ' _s kinda' grown on me_ …' she idly thought. Grabbing her Nanogun, which she propped up against the miniature closets beneath the sink, she headed out, taking a glance at the map Master Hand had provided her with yesterday. "It's probably still early, so I guess I'll go and grab some breakfast…"

Two minutes of navigating the fairly complex building later, and she came by the kitchen, as well as the adjacent dining room. "Huh. Pretty fancy." The large amount of closets lining the room were made of a wood that was stained a deep, mahogany-like brown, and the center table was made from what appeared to be an extremely expensive type of marble. The sinks were made from a stainless steel, and the dining room next door possessed several windows, allowing for a great view of the rising sun. The table in that room was stained the same shade of wood as the closets in the kitchen, and the chairs, like-wise. What really drew her attention, however, was the sheer amount of chairs and the extremely long table; there were no less than four dozen of the latter, and the table was proportioned to hold that same amount, which thusly made it rather large. The same could be said of the room. "Man, Master Hand wasn't exaggerating when he said that the roster keeps on getting large every time. There must be at _least_ fifty people here!"

"Why, you would be correct in that assumption, young lady," a slightly accentuated voice said from her right. Another person had walked in from the room's entrance during her examination of the room. The man had striking blue eyes and hair, delicate features on his face (which Iji thought made him look a bit feminine), a sword, if the sheath on his left side was anything to go by, and a fanciful chest plate with a red, gem-like sphere on the top-right section of it, which kept his cape that had a blue coloration on the outside and red on the inside in place. _'Royalty of some kind_?' she wondered, both from his mannerisms and _especially_ his appearance. "Might I ask of your name, ma'am?" he asked, stretching a fingerless, gloved hand out for her to take. She smiled a bit at his politeness, taking the hand in her own and shaking it. "Iji Kataiser. Yours?" He returned the smile.

"You may call me Marth."


	7. Chapter Six: Old and New

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Y'know, at the rate that I'm uploading these, I'm starting to become afraid that I'll burn myself out in my interest in writing chapters for this thing.

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Six: Old and New

* * *

Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Path of Radiance_ soundtrack - _Quiet Days_

After their introductions, the Iji and Marth settled on a simple breakfast that they both could appreciate - toast, with butter and milk. "So, Iji, am I to assume that you are a new combatant in Super Smash Brothers? That is the business that most people that arrive here are to do, after all."

A small gulp, and Iji responded, "Yeah, pretty much." Another bite of food from Iji, and she continued after swallowing, "I'm here because Master Hand offered supplies for my world in exchange for my time here."

Marth gave her a curious glance, and asked, "Oh? And what has happened to your world to require such assistance?" Iji shook her head.

"Well… Would you by satisfied if I said that it was pretty much destroyed by a bunch of aliens?"

Marth's eyes widened, ever so slightly. "Ah." They were almost finished with their food by this point. "… Do you wish to talk about it any further?" Iji shook her head again. "Nah. Thanks for the thought, though." She smiled gratefully. The pair continued their breakfast, with Marth finishing up about a minute after Iji. Marth inquired, "What is that device that you carry around? It looks… complex, I suppose?" He cupped his chin in a hand. "I have seen a friend of mine use one a bit like yours when he fought, though I am loathe to say that I never got the opportunity to ask about it in-depth, nor will I, as he is no longer fighting here. All that I really knew was that it fired explosive projectiles." Iji could tell by his wording that he hadn't really seen a gun before, or, at least, the type of one she used.

"It's a Nanogun. To tell you the truth, I don't really understand it all that much, either; I only really know that it can store a lot of weapons at once and use them on the fly." Marth let out a small "Hmm" of interest, though, for the moment, he appeared satisfied.

A minute or so of comfortable silence passed, during which the two sipped up whatever excess milk they hadn't taken in yet. Eventually, though, another person walked in, presumably for breakfast. The evidently young woman had a head of white hair and soft, brown eyes, though they held a sort of calculating look to them when they looked in Iji's direction. Her black coat possessed several purple highlights, and underneath that, she had a white shirt, though it was impossible to discern what it really looked like underneath the coat, especially since it looked to be a size or two too big for the girl. "Robin," the blue-eyed greeted.

"Marth," she said back, a small smile on her face. She turned toward Iji. "Who might this be?"

"She is Iji Kataiser; she has told me that she is a new combatant."

"Ah. Well, doubtless Marth and possibly Master Hand have already welcomed you with open arms, but allow me to do so as well. I am Robin, tactician of the Shepherds, and he is Marth, the current Emperor of Akaneia."

"Woah! An _emperor_!? Why didn't you tell me this!?" A brief pause. "Should I be bowing down!?" The newly revealed emperor's cheeks became a tad pink.

"Ah… Well, because I don't like the thought standing above others just because of my position." His smile returned. "And no, you need not. Honestly, I find myself a bit embarrassed at the mere thought of such people doing so just because of my presence…" Iji let out a sigh of relief. Robin, meanwhile, was just standing off to the side, attempting to hide her giggles with a hand. After everyone calmed down from that little debacle, Robin grabbed some cereal and a glass, pouring some orange juice into it and sitting herself down next to Iji.

"So, you said that you're the tactician of the Shepherds? I hope that you aren't talking about an actual group of sheep farmers, because that would be _really_ silly if they need a _tactician_ , of all things." Robin once again resumed her giggles.

"Oh, you're correct, we're not," she said, coming off of her little humor high. "We're more or less a militia for the entire nation of Ylisse. As you can probably imagine, we're really quite busy!" Iji giggled a tad, herself. "So, I've noticed that strange object, the one leaning against the chair. What does it do?" Iji repeated what she said to Marth, though she added what things it could fire and what they did. "Deadly. I would imagine only a bit more so than my world's magic, though!" She pulled a green book out from one of the coat's internal pockets. On its front was a symbol of some sort. "This is a Rexcalibur tome. It produces air that twirls around the target at tornado-level speeds, tearing the foe _several_ new ones. As you can probably guess, it's really high up there on the hypothetical scales of deadliness as a result."

"Woah. Powerful. I can guarantee you that having a fission bomb blown up in your face would hurt a _lot_ more, though."

"Fission? What's that?" Robin said.

"Not entirely certain, either. I was home schooled, so I probably don't know as much as most people would." She then realized that they were probably from an era long post, and added, "From my time period, at least." Robin let out a small "Hum" of acknowledgment, with the white-haired woman continued to gulp down her food as a surprisingly rapid rate. They were so into the conversation that they hadn't noticed another person sit down at the table until the creak of a chair sliding across the floor sounded out.

This one's appearance was almost entirely blue, with the exception of his mildly pale face. Blue eyes the same shade as his armor and helmet stared at the newcomer to Smash Brothers, curiosity clearly evident in them, though, with his short stature, he was required to look upward a bit, even at a table setting. "And who might you be?" asked Iji. "My designation is DLN-001, more commonly Mega Man, though my creator, Doctor Light, has tended towards calling me Rock. Any of those names is fine with me." Iji's eyes widened a tad.

"Creator? So you're something like an android, then?" The advanced robot nodded his head, a smile now present on his face. "Right on the dot, pretty much! First try, too!"

"What time do you come from, then? Must be a lot farther ahead than mine to be able to produce such human-like robots as you!"

Mega Man responded back in a pleasant tone, "2001."

"Wha' – _really_?"

"Most assuredly," he said with a nod.

"Because I live in 2018, and AI like yours is _still_ several decades off!" She shook her head in incomprehension. "Alternate universes are _weird_ , if that's really the case here…"

As time passed, several more people came by to eat their respective breakfasts, most sitting at the table, and some leaving to likely eat in their own rooms, a few of which consisting of a person (Iji was having a hard time determining the gender) with a blue and white outfit that reminded her distinctly of a ninja, a blue on black bipedal jackal, and, perhaps predictably enough, Mewtwo. The person that drew her attention the most, however, was the massively built man with a complexion was a shade of gray unbefitting of a human (if he was indeed one), with orange hair stylized to look like a king's. He also had what appeared to a _glowing_ , _gaping hole_ in his chest. Iji couldn't help but stare, especially at the wound; it hardly seemed to faze him! The huge man glared at her fiercely, letting out a baritone-like, questioning, " _What_?"

"Oh, ah, nothing! Nothing at all!" she responded, thoroughly intimidated, even though he spoke but a word. He growled a bit, leaving the room, not even bothering to spare a continued look at her as he went. Once she was certain that he was out of hearing range, he questioned Robin, "Who _was_ that guy!?"

A person across the table explained for Robin, "That man's name is Ganondorf. Apparently, he's the most evil and corrupt person here. As such, you probably shouldn't mess with him." Iji glanced at the speaker, and was most certainly fazed by what she saw. Aside from the lack of feminine features and differing hair style, he looked almost _exactly_ the same as Robin, right down to the clothes and face. "… Oh! Oh, I thought that you were asking _me_ that question. My apologies." He awkwardly scratched his head a bit, getting up from his chair and walking a bit closer. "I'm _also_ Robin. Apparently, there are two of us from different universes, the only difference between the two being our gender and the relationships caused by it." Iji was shocked yet again at this event's choice of participants. ' _Two of the same person_? Why!?' she asked to herself in her thoughts. Robin continued, seemingly not taking notice of hew shock, "The two of us agreed that it would get _really_ confusing _really_ quickly if we both went by the same name, so my female counterpart got the idea to nickname herself. If both of us are present, you ought to call her Bubbles."

A quick glance from Robin to the clock, and he nodded to himself, walking over to the space between the kitchen and the dining room. "Alright, everyone! May I have your respective attentions for a minute or two?" Most of the people piped down almost immediately, though a few continued to chatter. They were also quelled by a word or shove from their neighbors. "Good. So, as Master Hand has relayed to me, we've yet another newcomer to Smash today. If you would come over here, Iji…" She did so, though with a bit of trepidation. She was never really good in front of crowds, regardless of whether she was the one speaking or not. "This is Iji Kataiser, a human from the year… 2018, you said?" A nod from her. "Yes, 2018! As per the standard newcomer introductory ceremonies, Iji shall first do battle with one of us, that person being picked at random!"

"What?"

"Once that is done with her first battle, she is to do a round of Smash Run with another three randomly selected Smash participants, and after that, she will play through Classic Mode on any Intensity that she so wishes!"

" _What_!?"

"Depending on how well she does in the first two, and how high of an Intensity she clears Classic Mode on, she shall be given various rewards, as to demonstrate to her what things she may learn and obtain in her visit here, and, perhaps more importantly, to see how the battles of Super Smash Brothers function first-hand! Finally, when all of that is over with, she shall have a banquet with everyone currently in the competition, as to more formally introduce her to her future friends and rivals! That is all!"

"No, _seriously_ , _what_!?" Robin gave her a reassuring pat on the back as he went to resume his breakfast.

"Oh, don't worry! Mine went smoothly, and yours should, as well!"


	8. Chapter Seven: Battle of Beginnings

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Loathe am I to admit that there shall be no update tomorrow, as I am hosting an end of the year party for my school's anime club. Sorry ahead of time!

Besides that, however, I've nothing of significance to say here. I usually don't, in fact…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Seven: Battle of Beginnings

* * *

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _Three Cans Later_

"This is _not_ going to go smoothly _at all_! I can already tell!" Iji complained, seeming to be in a (more than) mild panic as the tactician dragged her along. Robin seemed to not notice her state of unease, saying, "Oh, I as I've said already, you'll be _fine_! You just need to fight your best; it doesn't truly matter if you win or lose!" Robin momentarily stopped in his tracks, seeming to come to an epiphany. "Ah. I just now realized that you don't know how these fights work. Allow me to explain."

" _Please_ and _thank you_!" she said, sounding both relieved and aggravated still.

"What you're basically attempting to do in order to win the fight is knock your opponent off of the boundaries of the stage, and, depending on the rules, doing so as many times as possible. Most of the time, it comes down to who the last man standing is, or who gets the most knock outs by the end of an allotted time limit. For your match, it's going to be the latter, and it's going to last three minutes." The woman looked a tad curious.

" _Only_ three minutes? Isn't that a bit much?" Robin chuckled a bit.

"Oh, trust me when I say that these sorts of things go by slower than you think, especially in the particularly fierce or close matches. Let's hope that it's the latter, eh?"

Iji sighed depressingly, which, to most on-lookers, would also sound over-exaggerated to a comical degree. "You are _not_ helping!"

"Oh, and a couple of tips. I don't understand how it works, but in this universe, you're somehow capable of jumping in _mid_ - _air_. Only once, though. Don't worry about it; it'll come to you naturally. All but a couple of us here in Smash Brothers have also come up with a way to jump a second time whilst in the air, as well, though it took a bit of pre-emptive thinking for us to figure out which moves would really propel us upwards. Best get thinking on that now, by the way!

"Items will also probably appear on the battle field every now and then. I recommend that you pick them up and use them as soon as possible, as almost all of them will give you an edge in battle."

Robin spun around and put his hands on her shoulders, sounding a little more serious. "Lastly, and most importantly, _no one you hit will be at harm_. Everyone here is equipped with a shield that converts would-be wounds into kinetic force, with more and more force being applied the worse they would be wounded. It's also cumulative, so it's really just about racking up the damage and finishing the foe with a powerful attack. Trust me when I say that you'll know when the foe has been knocked out."

Another minute of walking passed, and they came upon a door. The room inside held a teleporter not too dissimilar to the one found in the room that was evidently in the building's basement. A window that, oddly enough, was completely black and not showing anything besides that color, was positioned on the opposite wall to the door, and roughly five-dozen plush chairs were next to the door they entered from. Iji looked around for a moment, saying, "This room probably looks a _lot_ smaller on the outside than on the inside."

"That would likely be true if you could get a view on it from it from the outside. Only problem there is that this room is actually the center of the manor, so that's not really possible without needlessly demolishing this place." Iji let out a small chuckle at the thought.

"The dispenser next to the terminal gives you a sticker. Again, I don't really know how or why, but that _tiny little sticker_ is what gives you your shield, as well as making sure that it functions properly." Iji let out a "Huh" of small astonishment.

"Not the most complex thing that I've seen. This Nanogun I have here probably is, actually. Like I said earlier, I have _no idea_ how it can store so many weapons at once, or how it can switch between them so rapidly." The door they just came in from opened, and a rather… _stylish_ man came in.

He was dressed in what seemed to be a spandex suit that was blue in coloration. Two armor-like plates, one on top of the other, rested on his right shoulder. A long, yellow scarf was draped around his neck, and his golden boots (spray painted, tinted, or the real deal, Iji had no idea) had stylized birds engraved upon them. A red helmet with a similar-looking golden bird from the boots covered all but the bottom half of his face. Triangular white visors were in place of eye holes, so Iji couldn't even ascertain his eye color. "Hey, Robin. This the newcomer I'm supposed to fight?" he said in a casual manner.

"Indeed. Iji, this is Captain Falcon. Captain Falcon, Iji," the previously mentioned person said, gesturing accordingly. Captain Falcon put a gloved hand to his chin, appearing to measure the young woman up. "You don't look all that dangerous, aside from that gun. This ought to be an easy win," he decided. Iji was very clearly indignant as his rude dismissal of her.

"Wh - You _jerk_! As far as I'm concerned, _you_ ' _re_ not a threat to me, seeing as how _you_ don't even have a weapon to begin with!" Falcon looked a bit angered at her response, however justified it was.

"Weapons? _Weapons_? Girl, I don't _need_ weapons when I've got _these_!" He flexed his (admittedly impressive) muscles, where they rippled across his suit. Iji was hardly fazed by this show of strength.

"Yeah? How do you expect to put those things to use when I won't even let you get close with _this_?" she said, hands firmly gripping the handles of her gun.

"Break it up, break it up!" Robin said, separating the now-close pair of combatants, sounding exasperated. "It's like I'm dealing with two Morgans, both of which having a vendetta against my sanity at once!"

The other two raised a brow at this. " _Morgans_?" they asked simultaneously.

"Oh, ah, you probably wouldn't get it at the moment. I'll tell you later," he said. Iji and Captain Falcon resumed their glaring at each other, the F-Zero pilot not seeming intimidated in the slightest at the female's slightly taller height. Robin sighed, once again feeling angered at their argument. "Calm down, already! You can settle this in the upcoming Smash Battle! Speaking of which, it should be starting any -"

"Would Captain Falcon and Iji please obtain their shield tickets and step onto the teleporter?" Master Hand's voice said over a non-visible intercom, a yawn being heard a second later before it went silent.

"Well, it's as Robin said! We can settle this in Smash, where I'll beat your un-sorry _ass_ into the ground!"

"Really, now? We'll just have to see! Or, rather, we won't, because I'll make sure that you lose _immediately_!"

" _You_ , beat _me_!? _Hah_! Fat chance!" he said in return, grabbing an inch-by-inch, cyan ticket and slapping it on his top-most shoulder pad. Iji did likewise, putting it on her own shoulder after Falcon was finished using it. Captain Falcon stepped onto the telepad first, Iji following determinedly after him nary a second later. "Those two… I can tell already. They're going to be at each other's throats the entire time they're here…" Hand promptly met face at the thought as he sighed in trepidation.

Master Hand's voice rang out, from seemingly not particular direction, "The stage you are heading to is… Battlefield!"

* * *

A blur of light, and she was on said stage, attempting to shake her mild nausea away. She was not used to being teleported for any more than a half-second, after all. Captain Falcon came riding in from some sort of futuristic, anti-gravity vehicle, and hopped off of the cockpit, the window closing behind him and the machine somehow driving off on its lonesome. The platform she was standing on was made of a marble-like stone, with three smaller ones inexplicably floating above it. Around her was a rather beautiful scene; the sun was just beginning its rise over a series of ruins above the clouds, red flags that bore the Smash Brothers insignia waving in the gentle wind.

" _ **Three**_!"

Iji was startled by the voice of Master Hand, getting herself together and prepping her Nanogun.

" _ **Two**_!"

Captain Falcon idly pulled his gloves down, as if to make sure that they were securely on his person. He stretched an arm out when he was done with that, yelling at her, " _Come on_!"

" _ **One**_!"

They gazed at each other competitively, readying themselves to charge at each other.

" _ **GO**_!"

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers for Wii U_ / _3DS_ soundtrack – _Battlefield_

Iji made the first move, firing off a rocket at Falcon. He jumped over it with relative ease, a cocky smirk at his face as he approached from the air. He twirled around in the air, giving her a twirling kick just before he landed, knocking the air out of her with a fiery elbow barely half a second later. Iji was still recovering by the time he sprinted forward and grabbed her by the shirt, throwing her upwards and jumping up himself, giving her a truly _vicious_ knee. She was sent flying off into the air at high speeds, just barely avoiding being knocked out. Quickly remembering Robin's words of wisdom, she kicked at the air, surprised as she was propelled upward. It was still not enough distance to get her to the ledge, however. Swiftly coming up with an idea, she aimed her Nanogun downward, firing off an MPFB Devastator shot. The crystalline shells were sent down, and her, up, and she was propelled a much farther distance than her jump did. Smiling in relief as she grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up, she came face to face with a still-grinning Captain Falcon. He kicked the hands that she was using off the ledge, and then her head afterward as she was forced to let go, flying downward and getting KOd as a result.  
' _Damn it_! _What can I do to counter that kind of combination of speed and strength_!?" she thought as a floating platform descended, allowing her back onto the stage, only now realizing that she just may be in over her head a bit. ' _Better keep my distance and pelt him with smaller attacks_ ,' she decided, hopping off of the glowing platform and firing some Machine Gun shells at Falcon. The shield did its job, protecting the captain from the spray of bullets, though he still flinched for a short time as he was shot. Stepping backward as Falcon approached again, Iji got yet another idea, switching her weapon to a different mode. When Falcon came within a foot away, she suddenly stopped, and fired the Shotgun directly at his face. He was sent flying backwards, landing near the edge of the stage. He got up quickly, however, and came at her again, this time taking an aerial approach.

Iji panicked a bit, thinking of the high damage the kicks and _especially_ the knee inflicted, before calming herself, switching to her Pulse Cannon. She fired the green projectiles at him as he descended, and the force of the weapon kept him airborne, allowing Iji to safely keep her distance as she dealt damage. Falcon snarled a bit in frustration, twisting to the side in the air and out of the trajectory of Iji's current weapon. Captain Falcon readied himself to kick her in the face as he came closer to the ground, but Iji dodged out of the way just in the nick of time, giving Captain Falcon a fiercesome Nanotech-enhanced kick of her own as he landed. He was once again sent flying, just over the edge this time, and Iji ran over to him, attempting to keep him from getting back to the center of the stage and, subsequently, a safer zone than the edge. She jumped over the edge and fired another series of MPFBs downward, the first two hitting him and knocking the F-Zero racer all the way to the blast zone, scoring Iji her first KO.

She sighed in amelioration as she landed back on the stone-covered stage, twirling her Nanogun a bit as she did so. Staring up at Falcon's angered face as he came back on-stage, she readied herself for another round of blows between the two. Before that could happen, a small, red on white flashed into existence behind Iji. Remembering Robin's advice to use items when possible, she picked it up and threw it at Falcon. It hardly seemed to faze him as it bounced off his helmet, though he still backed off as the ball opened up and flashed several rays of blue-white light. A short, squid-like being popped out, and it glanced up at her briefly before letting out an undeniably cute "Inkay!" It Jumped up a foot or so and flopping back down to the ground, head-first. A small quake shook out, and Falcon lost his footing, tripping over his own feet, immediately halting his advance upon Iji. He attempted to regain his footing, but Iji was already upon him. She fired a rocket directly at his chest, and he was sent flying a decent distance, where he landed on his hands and performed a roll, managing to smoothly regain his balance. The squid-like being did the same thing as it previously did, though Falcon wizened up to its antics, jumping over it so that the quake didn't affect him. He came at her quickly, landing just behind Iji and kicking her in the face. As she was sent reeling, she gave her a shoulder bash at sprinting speeds, and she went flying upwards again. ' _No no no_ , _not again_!'

But it was too late; another knee to the face later, and she was KOd a second time, giving Captain Falcon his advantage earlier on back to him. Iji shook her head, trying to clear away her now-prominent headache, before jumping down again.

These exchanges continued for the next minute and a half, with Iji securing another two KOs, and Falcon, one. Items were occasionally spawned in and used, some of which barely affecting the overall match and some doing quite a lot, a comical-looking, black hammer especially. It was now down to the last thirty seconds of the match, and they were both beginning to get to rather high damage percentages. Falcon give Iji another wheeling kick, and she was flying through the air again. Iji gave the captain a Shotgun blast, and he, too, was launched across Battlefield. There was now a meager fifteen seconds left. ' _Damn_! _I_ ' _ve got to score another KO, and quick_!' they both thought. Falcon sprinted at her, and she rolled out of the way, grabbing him by the scruff of his collar and tossing him to the side. He was sent careening off the platform, and Iji fired a rocket, attempting to finish his stock off. He strafed to the side, dodging it, and jumped upward.

" _ **Five**_!"

Fire began to build in his right hand as he descended, and Iji warily held her ground, not knowing what he was preparing.

" _ **Four**_!"

" _Falcon_ …" He yelled as his descent began, his arm throwing itself backwards, as if preparing for a truly mighty blow.

" _ **Three**_!"

Iji rolled to the right and out of the path she predicted, prepping another rocket to fire when he landed. She predicted the path wrong, however, as he unexpectedly twisted around in mid-air, coming face to face with her…

" _ **Two**_!"

… and he let out a resounding " _PUNCH_!" as the blow connected, sending her flying off-stage at very high speeds. She could not react in time, as her Nanogun was still preparing the rocket to be fired. Iji could have _sworn_ that she a falcon form in the fires as she was hit by the blow…

" _ **One**_!"

As the beams of light from the edge of the stage were let out, signifying her KO, he faced towards the front of the stage. Putting his hand to his helmet and doing some manner of salute, he shouted, " _Show your moves_!"

" _ **Time**_!"

" _ **The winner is**_ …" spoke Master Hand, sounding a tad awed by the match, " _ **Captain Falcon**_!"

* * *

The two were teleported back into the room, with Iji coming face to face with a large number of people, presumably most of the other Smash participants. They all gazed upon her in silence before a large, burly, blue-haired man with a golden-colored sword stood up and began applauding, appreciation for her efforts clear in his eyes. The person next to him, which was Marth, also did so, a small on his features as his hands clapped together. Slowly, the others stood up themselves and did the same, giving her a round of applause. She blushed a bit, and said, "Thanks, I guess… I still lost, though…"

A gloved hand unexpectedly wrapped around her shoulder, and Falcon said, "Y'know what? I take you being an insignificant threat back. You did good, and you almost beat me, which, considering that this is your first Smash, is no small feat!"

Iji smiled at the F-Zero racer's reassurance of her quality of skill, and thanked him as well. Bubbles descended from one of the higher seats of the crowd, and told her, "Good job on your first Smash Battle, Iji! Your first Smash-related objective of initiation is now completed, with Smash Run being next. It gets a bit more complicated from the normal Smash Battles, so you'd best pay close attention…"


	9. Chapter Eight: On Your Marks

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Apologies for not getting this out yesterday as predicted. I still update this thing on a relatively frequent basis, however, so I don't really think that you all would mind that much, however presumptuous that assumption of you all that may be. Still, the chapter is here for your enjoyment, and I do hope that you all find some large amount modicum of enjoyment in it!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Eight: On Your Marks…

* * *

Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Awakening_ soundtrack - "We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe."

"So what you're basically saying is that I'm going around, defeating enemies, and picking up these "power-ups" along the way in preparation for a final battle?"

"That about some it up, yes," the female counter-part to Robin confirmed, as they ate lunch. It was still about a half an hour before the event began, after all.

"Doesn't really sound too hard," Iji said after a gulp. "Guess that depends on what I encounter during those five minutes, though."

"Indeed. Oh, and if you come by the other three competitors, feel free to either ignore them or fight them and steal their buffs." Iji nodded her head as she gulped down the last of her orange juice, feeling refreshed from the mildly exhausting battle that took place a couple of hours ago. It was still a bit hard to believe that she was fighting amongst the wide array of beings present here, be they other men (however strangely dressed a few of them were) or ninja-like anthropomorphic frogs with the ability to produce water from thin air.

' _This is all still so strange to me_ … _I wonder if I_ ' _ll ever really get used to it_ …'

"Robin. Iji," a feminine voice said, coming into the dining room. Iji blinked, immediately taking note of the young-looking woman's large resemblance to Marth. The face, hair color, eyes, even the clothing - they were all so strikingly similar! "I do not believe that we have previously met, fellow newcomer. You may call me Lucina," she said formally. ' _The wording_ , _too_ ,' she thought. She told the Marth look alike, "Well, you already know me. Nice to meet you, too." She mulled over her next words carefully. "Sorry if I sound rude when I ask this, but why do you look so similar to Marth? Are you once of his kids or something?" She closed her eyes, sighing at this quandary. "No, because that would mean that Marth is really an old man… Hmm…"

Lucina looked amused at her plight, giggling softly. "I get that quite a bit, believe it or not. I'm actually his descendent from a few thousand years in his world's future." Iji was flabbergasted at this revelation.

"A few _thousand_ years!? How do you look so much like him, then? That's not how genetics work; even I know that!"

"I know not of what these "genetics" are; I merely know that I am very much like him, and proud of it, however unlikely the parallels are," she said a bit more seriously, despite the smile on her person. "Upstanding and courageous… Not to sound full of myself, of course! It is just that Marth clearly has both of those qualities, and I strive to match his example!"

Iji chuckled a bit, herself. "Yeah, I got it. So, you also here for lunch, then?"

"Indeed," she unintentionally quoted, grabbing a couple of slices of bread from the nearby package located on the refrigerator, putting them in the toaster. A full minute passed with her staring at it. A blush slowly creeped its way up her face. "Oh, dear," she muttered. The two others present in the room swiveled around to face her. "Erm… I have never actually used of these… "toasters", was it? Yes, _toasters_ , before. Would one of you two kindly…?" Iji got up, answering her unfinished question with a "Sure". She strolled over to her, explaining, "It's pretty simple. All you've gotta' do is pull the lever down, wait a few minutes, and the now-toasted bread'll pop out. Put whatever you want on it, and you're all set to eat!" Lucina grinned at her helpfulness. "Much appreciated, Iji. I had inferred such, but I was not willing to take the risk of breaking this contraption, you see…" Iji shrugged.

"It's fine. It was hardly any trouble." She went to sit down and finish off her meal, doing so a just when Lucina sat down to begin on her own.

"See ya'," she said as she left, waving behind her.

"I shall see you later, as well," Lucina said, grabbing the glass that she had poured some orange juice into. "Now, "orange juice", do you really taste like your name sake…?"

Iji walked along the halls of the manor-like building, not really having any particular destination in mind. She was merely exploring, it seemed. A good couple of minutes passed by as she walked, until she came by a door. The door itself was nothing special in and of itself, aside from the words "Training Room" inscribed upon it in cursive. No, rather, what really drew her attention were the masculine grunts of exertion coming from inside. Opening the door and casually walking through the threshold of the room, she observed a man with black hair and what appeared to be boxing attire wailing on a sandbag with odd, almost _googly_ eyes. "… Hello?" she uncertainly said to the man. A couple of more punches and a painful-looking uppercut to the sandbag later, and he turned around to look at her, letting out a curious-sounding grunt. "I'm Iji, a newcomer here in Smash Brothers. Who're you?"

He didn't seem to be a man for manners, simply saying, with a slightly accented twinge, "Name's Little Mac. Newcomer here, too." He glanced at her for a second longer, seeming to completely ignore the rather large gun in one of her hands, before going back to his training session, this time doing little leaps around the bag as he punched it. Iji shrugged, not really caring that much for manners, herself. If anything, she appreciated his to-the-pointedness; it was a bit refreshing, actually. "See you later, I suppose." Little Mac merely let out a slightly louder-sounding grunt, as if to affirm that he had heard her. Iji waved a bit as she exited, with the evident boxer not seeming to notice the gesture. Unbeknownst to the young woman, however, the burly, yet short smiled, if only slightly, at her wave.

Some more wandering around on the woman's part, and she eventually came upon a stairwell. Going up it and coming to the unexplored second floor of the building, she went through the hallway in front of her and exited the door at its end. She was greeted with many bright rays of sunlight, and she let out an uncomfortable grunt at the sudden, drastic change in lighting. Waiting several seconds for her eyes to adjust before heading outside, she exited the building and went into onto what appeared to be the roof. She could finally catch a real glimpse of this world's outside! The sky was a bright cyan, with the sun almost reaching its apex in the sky. The grass was a bright green, and several trees of varying types dotted the immediate landscape. A road went off into the horizon, and a town could barely be seen in the distance, likely connecting this building and that area. Iji felt quite gladdened at this sight, but was greeted by a wave of depression only a few minutes later. Leaning against a guard rail, she said out loud, in a quiet, solemn voice, "My world may be saved with Master Hand's help, but there's still a chance his efforts will fail. Even if they do, I might not live long enough to see this kind of sight back on Earth…" She sighed.

"Erm… Excuse me, miss? What are you talking about?" a timid voice spoke up from her left. Turning towards it, she came almost face to face with a cartoonish man with a strange moustache in blue and green. A cap the same shade as the rest of the clothes of that color rested on his blackish-brown hair. Iji blushed in indignation, and stumbled in her words, "N-Nothing! Nothing of importance! Who are you, anyway?"

He seemed uncomfortable to begin with, but the way she worded her question seemed to amplify this. "L-Luigi! I'm Luigi!" He stroked the corner of his moustache with a singular finger, as if it were a sort of comfort trigger for him. He gazed back a bit expectedly.

"Oh, ah, my name's Iji."

A silence whose awkwardness was practically palpable made itself known, broken only by the gentle breeze. They both simultaneously opened their mouths to speak, but clamped them shut, as they saw that the other was about to speak. Iji was the first to open her mouth again, but was interrupted by the intercom (which she _still_ could not find in any of the rooms; it was as if they were _actually_ invisible!). "Would Iji, Lucina, Yoshi, and Ganondorf kindly report to the central teleportation room? Smash Run shall begin in approximately fifteen minutes, so finish up your respective immediate businesses if you can and come down as soon as possible."

Iji sighed exhaled softly in relief. She was genuinely not sure what she was going to say when she opened her mouth a few moments ago. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, Luigi…" Iji waved as she left yet again, the cap-wearing man doing the same as she turned her back on him and left. He sighed himself as the door clicked shut behind the gun-wielding human. "Another chance for a friend, wasted…" he said none too depressingly. Were it not for the overall sad tone of this scene, one could easily consider it comical, especially considering how many times this has essentially happened to him collectively over the Smash meetings…

"Are you all familiar with the rules and regulations of Smash Run?" Iji and Lucina both let out a word of affirmation. Yoshi let out happy-sounding noise, with the two women glancing at the dinosaur-like being with a sort of awkward trepidation. ' _It_ looks _friendly enough_ ,' they both thought, ' _but it likely wouldn't be here if it couldn't hold its own_.' They both had already ascertained that Ganondorf was a threat, and probably a large one at that. Said man let out a grunt of confirmation to Master Hand's inquiry. "Good. We shall be getting started here in a few moments, then. Give me a minute, just to confirm that everything is ready…"

They did so, with the two women shuffling on their feet in anticipation. Yoshi was hopping down, clearly incapable of holding in his own excitement. Ganondorf, with the exception of his breathing, was stock-still, arms crossed over his chest and glowering at nothing in particular. "Right! Everything is set to go! Step onto your respective telepads, and we shall get started!" They readily complied. Master Hand began counting down as the teleporters lit up and warped them to their respective destinations…

" _ **Three**_!"

" _ **Two**_!"

" _ **One**_!"

" _ **GO**_!"


	10. Chapter Nine: A Smashing Run

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

 _Yeah_ , I apologize _profusely_ for that _atrocious_ title. I hope that the chapter that I have provided this time is not quite as horrendous as this chapter's name!

Also, the flow of uploads may become slightly slower, so expect an update every third day or so from now on. Again, apologies!

 _Also_ , also, the twenty-thousand word milestone for _Dimensions and Realities_ has been hit! Neat! Here's to hoping that I can reach forty-thousand, and the ones beyond that!

Shout-outs to puchufan101 for the Favorite! Thanks much for that!

* * *

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

 _Dimensions and Realities_

* * *

Chapter Nine: A _Smashing_ Run

Cue music - _Xenoblade Chronicles_ soundtrack - _Mechanical Rhythm_

" _ **GO**_!"

Iji ran forth from the platform near the cliff she was teleported onto, immediately seeking enemies to defeat. From a series of flashes of light, a decent amount of small, mushroom-like beings with comical faces came fourth, and ran at her as soon as she came into their sights. They hardly moved at one would call a fast pace, even with their running speed, so Iji had plenty of time to shoot them up with some Machine Gun rounds. ' _Remember_ , _these guys aren't real_ ; _just computer-controlled entities_ ,' she re-assured herself. They went flying upon their defeat, bouncing off of the floor several times before disappearing. Boot and glove-like symbols emerged from where they disappeared. Correctly assuming that they were power-ups, she grabbed them before moving on.

Masked, human-like, moderately tiny beings of various colors attempted to stop her next, but they were also dealt with easily, and she grabbed the boosts that they dropped, as well. Running into a tunnel, she came by roughly a dozen giant insectoid creatures. They took a few more shots than the previous foes did, and Iji was hit a few times by their seemingly acidic projectiles, but she managed to pull through, regardless. A couple more seconds of running, and she entered a massive, multi-tiered room. A liquid substance which flowed along the wall to look like a tree of some kind was present on the back wall, and in front of her, the wind blew into her face from the sky. ' _Must be really high up_. _Good thing I_ ' _m not afraid of heights_!' she contemplated as she dodged through projectiles, taking down enemies where she could. She came to the bottom, and the platform gave way to the empty sky. A cannon, cartoony in appearance, was floating there, an arrow pointing towards another cannon. That one led to another, and that one to another yet. Quickly coming to the conclusion that this series of cannons led someplace, she took careful aim, backing off from the ledge a bit before jumping off. ' _It_ ' _s also good that I_ ' _ve done these sorts of things so often that I_ ' _m used to them_!'

Landing on a relatively large platform a few cannon blasts later, a few dozen enemies spawned around her, ranging anywhere from comically large-sized bullets with eyes and arms to human-like robots in red and white clothes with blasters. All of them came at her at once, but she defeated them all with only a few would-be scratches. A bright red door appeared after all of the foes were dealt with, a cyan light seeping through the edges of it. Shrugging, as if to non-verbally say, "Why not?", she ventured into the door.

A large formation of purple-ish crystals were in front of her, and a set of words rested above it. They said, "Smash the crystals!" Nary a second after Iji read the message, the words were replaced with the number thirty, which then began to count down. Immediately getting what to do, she switched to her Pulse Cannon and began tearing through the gem-like crystals. Each individual one dropped several small power-ups upon being smashed, and Iji settled on grabbing them once she was done destroying the other ones. She did so with around four seconds to spare, and two extremely large buffs appeared directly above the door. Taking those, as well as the other significantly smaller ones the crystals produced, she walked through the door. When she went into the next series of cannons next to the platform, she began to notice that she was actually beginning to run and jump noticeably faster and higher, respectively. ' _As if I didn_ ' _t_ already _jump high enough!_ ' she thought a tad sarcastically, though she couldn't really come up with any cynical comments for a faster running speed.

Landing on a rocky outcropping of land with a wheel of spinning platforms a couple of seconds after her leap, she took careful aim and defeated several enemies in the room, with the exception of a skinny-looking, robed being with eyes resembling antennae. When she shot it, it turned around and began flailing about, several miniature versions of itself spawning and flying in her direction. A short chip-tune could be heard in the background. Deciding that it wasn't worth her time to take it down, as it seemed a bit tough as well as durable, she hopped on a platform, riding it up into the exit to the room in the north-eastern corner, taking careful aim and shooting the miniature enemies when they drew too close for comfort.

Speeding through halls and enemies alike, she came back into the room with the liquid tree. Taking note of the fact that she was near the top this time instead of the bottom, she elected on going diagonally across, losing only a small amount of altitude in the process. Going up a small ramp lead her into a room with beautifully shimmering water underneath the somewhat narrow platform, and, were it not for the fact that she was in the middle of something of importance, she may've been tempted to take a dip. Taking out the next wave of enemies, she jumped up a series of platforms, which split into two paths. One led outside, and another led upwards still. Settling on taking the latter path, she continued to climb upwards, which, coincidentally enough, also ended up leading outside. She walked west, curious as to where the previous path lead. Peeking down the cliff, she spotted Yoshi dealing with several waves of continuous enemies on a rocky hill with a tree on the top. A couple of seconds later, when they were all dealt with, he looked up, spotting her. He jumped a bit, enthusiastically waving at her with both hands, not really seeming to acknowledge the fact that they were supposed to be competing. Iji waved back with a smile before leaving the cliff side, facing another several waves of enemies. One in particular stood out; a giant, armored being, clad in regal black armor and wielding a large shield in combination with a mighty blade stood before her, already poised to strike. Iji swiftly concluded that the thing probably hit like a truck but wasn't that fast, and she worked with that advantage, keeping her distance and pelting it with her Rocket Launcher. Several explosions later, and all of the thing's armor was gone, revealing chainmail armor and a monstrous face underneath. Tossing its large sword and shield aside, it drew a somewhat smaller blade from the sheath on its belt, and it sprinted towards her with unexpected speed, scoring a vicious hit and sending her flying, with the woman losing several power-ups as a result. Iji cursed under her breath, quickly getting up and readying one of her most deadly weapons. ' _You_ ' _re asking for it_ , pal!' A click of the trigger, and it was shot with the CFIS, getting launched itself after not three seconds of exposure to the beam of highly concentrated projectiles. Iji sighed in relief before taking her power-ups back and grabbing the ones the thing dropped, continuing onwards up the slope.

Coming to a tower-like building, she went inside, spotting a few platforms and a number of cannons floating in the pattern of a horizontal line, little alcoves being present in the directions of their paths. ' _So I_ ' _m_ not _supposed to get inside of one of those things this time_ , _huh_?' Carefully timing her jumps, she climbed up the tower, barely dodging each of the three fast-moving cannons. Upon getting to the roof, she spotted three gold-on-purple treasure chests. Little halos were slowly spinning above them. Opening the one on the left, she took note of the large clump of gold coins inside. Grabbing a chunk of the coins with a hand, she was shocked to find that the entire cmulp disappeared completely. "Oh, yeah," she muttered, "I get these kinds of things at the end of the Run." Walking over to the right one next, she found a large amount of sacks, a couple some having question marks on them, and some having a wrench-like symbol. Tapping each of them, claiming them as hers once the event ended, she walked over to the chest in the center. What she definitely was _not_ expecting was for it to sprout legs and kick her off the top of the tower with surprising force, knocking several buffs off her in the process.

"What the Hell…!?" she once again muttered before shaking off the injury and continuing up the slope, coming to a pile of rocks. Clambering on top of them, she spotted several more cannons leading downward, as well as a large chunk of rock floating a great distance above her. She thought to herself, ' _Maybe with these power_ - _ups_ , _I can get up there_!' And indeed she could, with the use of both her now-larger mid-air jump and MPFB Devastator. Pulling herself up, she came upon approximately two-dozen enemies clumped up together, with a timer appearing and counting down like in the door she had entered earlier. Barely managing to take care of all of the foes within the allotted time limit, a chest appeared, and she claimed its rewards before jumping up again, climbing ever-higher.

She was surprised for two entirely different reasons when she reached the top: one, Master Hand had announced over that _still_ -unfindable intercom that they now only had thirty seconds left in the Run. More prominently, however, was the presence of Ganondorf, who was just finishing up with a wave of fierce-looking foes. Turning around and spotting her, he began walking over in her direction, and Iji couldn't help but be rooted to the spot. ' _Ngh_ …! _Why can_ ' _t I move_ …!?' All she could do at the moment was look up as he slowly approached. A few seconds later, and he was directly in front of her, fixing her with a fiery glare. She glared back as best she could with frown, attempting to hide her inexplicable fear from the giant of a man. He let out a baritone "Hmm" a number of moments after his initial glare, and he simply walked by her, saying just before he jumped down, "Meet me in Room Fifteen as eight o'clock." He looked at her still-stiff form over his shoulder. "You have piqued my interest, girl."

As he left, Iji couldn't help but exhale loudly in relief, slumping over slightly. ' _Just who_ \- _or_ what - is _that guy_!?' Getting back on track, however, she quickly remembered that she now how less than thirty seconds until the Run ended. She also remembered that she spotted a number of power-ups in the sky below the rock tower she jumped up from, and, just as Master Hand gave the fifteen second warning, she jumped off of the platform. On later reflection, she would realize that this would be and incredibly dramatic thing to observe from any spectator's point of view ("Way to show your moves!" Captain Falcon would later say), she attempted to maneuver herself as best she could to pick up all of the buffs possible. There were five seconds left by the time she landed on the platform a huge distance below, and the time expired by the time she defeated the few enemies present there.

She was then teleported into a completely black room, and another three flashes and their ensuing sounds rang out. A quick glance revealed that her rivals were the ones who teleported in with her. "Combatants!" Master Hand's voice said, "Here are your stats of this Smash Run!" Four screens flashed on, with numbers appearing over the meters of the color-coded stats, a few of which having numbers so large that they were separated into two smaller bars. Everyone had decent stats (at least as far as Iji could tell), with her and Lucina having all around balanced buffs to their abilities, all of which having moderate amounts. Yoshi had a considerable amount of Defense and Special, yet not much else. Ganondorf's statistics were of the same kind of spread as Iji and Lucina's, though a decent margin higher in all regards, with the exception of Arms, which was the lowest of the four participants'. "Your Final Battle shall be…" He kept the silence for a couple of seconds, as if to let some amount of suspense build. "A Reflect Smash lasting one minute! Everyone shall be wearing Franklin Badges in this battle!" A snap was heard, and everyone was suddenly wearing stylized badges on their chests. "These reflect most projectiles, so if you're a person who uses many of those, be wary!" Iji frowned, ever so slightly, taking note of the fact that a decent amount of her attacks would be rendered useless as a result of these items. ' _Probably shouldn_ ' _t use my Rockets or MPFBs_ , _then_. _Better hope that my Machine Gun or Shotgun_ will, _then_!'

Another series of flashes, and they were on Battlefield, with Master Hand promptly counting down:

" _ **Three**_!"

" _ **Two**_!"

" _ **One**_!"

" _ **GO**_!"

Cue music - _Super Smash Brothers Brawl_ soundtrack - _Menu_ ( _Melee_ )

Ganondorf was the first to spring into action, setting his sights in Lucina first. Giving her a shoulder bash, sending her flying a decent distance into the air, he followed up with a kick in the air to her stomach. Lucina (understandably) landed a bit clumsily, barely landing on her feet and clutching her stomach painfully. Iji decided on making Ganondorf her first target as this happened, firing off her Machine Gun for a few seconds as she slowly approached. Giving Iji a glare, he ran at her next. Iji rolled to the side, expecting a shoulder bash like what he did to the other woman, but was unexpectedly greeted with a dark magic-charged, sweeping kick to her legs. This only sent her flying a foot or two, but did its job of unbalancing her, leaving her dazed on the ground. She quickly attempted to get up, but wasn't quite fast enough, with the King of Evil grabbing her by the neck and throwing her behind him, supplementing the rough toss with a kick to her face.

Meanwhile, Yoshi and Lucina were going at it, Lucina taking advantage of her Counter move to deal out punishment whenever Yoshi made an attempt at damaging her. Yoshi, catching on to her pattern, instead grabbed her with his tongue, somehow managing to fit her _entire body_ into his mouth before spitting her back out into the ground with a considerable amount of force. She was sent recoiling into the air, with the dinosaur-like being kicking her off-stage whilst still in the air. Before she had the chance to recover, he gave her an unpleasant-looking downward head-butt, sending her flying into the Blast Zone and scoring himself a KO. He gave a happy little dance as he got back on the platform. Lucina said, as she came back on-stage, "It would seem that I have underestimated your wit, Yoshi. I shall not hold back, then!"

At the other end of the stage, Iji became momentarily distracted the other combatants' conflict, but was abruptly interrupted as Ganondorf grabbed her by the head and shoved her into the ground with a small explosion of dark magic. Were it not for the shields, she would probably be concussed; maybe even worse. "Focus, girl!" said Ganondorf, a bit aggravated by her lack of attentiveness at the threat in front of her. "Do you wish for me to emerge victorious so easily!?" Iji gave a frustrated growl, getting up with rage-fueled speed as she shot him with a Rocket. She forgot about the items everyone came equipped with in the match in said rage, however, and the Rocket was sent flying back at her, exploding violently as it collided with her body, sending her flying off of Battlefield and into the Blast Zone.

"Damn it!" she muttered, hopping off and trying to give Ganondorf a kick when she approached close enough. He dodged, however, and he grabbed her leg as it retracted, tossing her into the air. He gave her a stomp with both legs as he jumped into the air next to her, and her body pulsed with electricity as she was sent flying back on-stage. She ricocheted off the ground, and Ganondorf leapt up again, clutching her side with a magic-infused hand that exploded not a second later. She was sent flying off stage like a dozen seconds earlier, but she managed to grab the ledge before the Gerudo King could deliver a punish, giving him a kick as she pulled herself upward. He was sent tripping to the ground, and Iji shot the hulking man in the face with her Shotgun, sending him flying to the other side of the stage. Lucina, noticing his trajectory, quickly reacted, slicing him with her sword, the Falchion, sending him into the Blast Zone, as well.

" _ **Five**_!"

Yoshi sprinted toward the heavily damaged Iji, but she, too, reacted quickly, dodging out of the way of his tongue and getting a grab on him.

" _ **Four**_!"

Tossing him off of the stage, she leaned over the edge, taking careful aim with her Nanogun before shooting him with several Machine Gun rounds, halting the pseudo-dinosaur in his jump.

" _ **Three**_!"

Yoshi desperately attempted to recover, but he had no true third jump, only his Egg Toss. He thusly fell into the Blast Zone, finally scoring Iji a KO. However…

" _ **Two**_!"

Ganondorf unexpectedly came running in from behind, seemingly charging some kind of punch up with a mighty cry. " _Uuuurgh_ …!"

" _ **One**_!"

" _Hryaaah_!" Iji was hit in the face with one the most powerful moves in Smash: the Warlock Punch. In her damaged state, it was really quite needless to say the she ended up being KOd.

" _ **Time**_!"

Everyone was sent to the room which served the purpose of both being the main teleporter room and the spectator room. Master Hand announced:

"The winner is… _Ganondorf_!"

Said man laughed proudly for a second before uncrossing his arms from his chest, walking over to the exit of the room. Before he closed the door behind him, however, he said, back still turned, "Don't forget out little arrangement, girl."

And, suddenly, everyone was looking at Iji. "Oh, ah, it's nothing important! Trust me!" she stuttered, blushing at everyone's sudden attention. Most of the people in the audience appeared mollified by this assurance, though a couple still looked suspicious at this supposed "arrangement".

"Well, that aside, Iji," said Bubbles as she came down to her from her seat, "You've got Classic Mode as your next - and _final_ \- thing to do in your initiation. In general, it's not quite as complex as Smash Run. How's about I tell you over a nice snack, hmm?" Iji was gladdened at her offer, agreeing with it gratefully, and she walked out of the room, everyone else filtering out after them as soon as Master Hand had given them permission to. The hand, himself, was one of those few who was still skeptical of the "arrangement" between the human and the Gerudo, but he, too, dismissed it after a few moments. ' _He has learned his lesson since that whole debacle with Tabuu_ ,' he thought, ' _or_ , _at least_ , _I sincerely_ hope _that he has_ …'


	11. Chapter Ten: Prelude to a Classic

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Here is yet another chapter for you lot! Besides that, though, I've nothing to say here. Again. Well, besides:

Thank you, o realisticFantasy o, for both the Review and Follow! You praise is much-appreciated, and I hope to keep it up! I would also encourage you to play _Iji_ , as it's completely free, though that's entirely up to you. I am also loath to admit that Ganon's antics won't be revealed 'till the chapter after the next. Sorry!

… Wait, could that be considered spoilers? Hmm. Ah, well...

Lastly, the time between this chapter and the next is going to be a bit longer than average, as I plan for it to be the longest chapter yet. Stay tuned for it!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Ten: Prelude to a Classic

* * *

Cue music - _Super Smash Brothers Melee_ soundtrack - _Menu One_

"So, in Classic, all I've really gotta' do is win in all seven stages? That's it?" Iji inquired, feeling a small sense of dejá vú from this conversation whilst munching on a slice of blue berry pie. 'Man, _these taste good_. _Wonder who made_ ' _em_?'

"That's the gist of it, yes," Bubbles confirmed. A few people were sitting with them at the table, most notably Bubbles' male alternative; Greninja (Iji waved at him with a grin as he walked in; Greninja did likewise, though it was impossible to tell if he was smiling in return underneath that scarf of his), who was cautious in putting his food in his mouth rather than on his scarf; and a mildly portly man in red and blue that reminded her distinctly of Luigi (brothers, maybe?). He introduced himself as Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom. He then inquired if Iji had encountered his brother yet, to which she replied in the affirmative. Another question from the plumber to the woman, this time being about if said encounter went well. Another "Yeah", and she added, "Your brother seems incredibly awkward. What's up with that?" He replied that he was just born that way, like any other person, and that he wouldn't have him any other way. That last part was said a bit defensively, and Iji backed off, though she was still gladdened at this sight of a good brotherhood.

Upon finishing her food, Iji stole a quick glance at the nearby clock. Master Hand has told her (this time directly, much to her relief) that her Classic Mode run would start a 3:30. Seeing as how that was still a good hour away, she had sat herself down on a chair and grabbed a snack or two, like the pie she had just finished off, both to slake her hunger and give herself the energy that she just might need. She had already explored around a good chunk of the mansion, so she asked Bubbles, "Do you know any interesting places I can go to around this building? 'Cause I've still got an hour before my Classic Run, and I'm getting a little bored." Bubbles put a hand to her chin.

"Well, there's the training room where you can practice your skills and combos, as well as a room for general relaxation and stretching. I recommend that you head to the latter room. Gods knows that you'll be needing a relaxation session after all you've been through, and what you'll be doing shortly!" The other woman nodded her head.

"Well, now that you mention it, my muscles _have_ been a bit sore. I guess some stretching couldn't hurt."

Robin spoke up. "When you leave the kitchen, just go down to your left. Go to the right when you see another hall, and in that area, you'll see a door labelled "Fitness Room". That's the one you're looking for." She thanked him, getting up from her seat at the table and leaving, waving an arm behind her as she exited the kitchen.

Following Robin's instructions, she came to the door and knocked a couple of times. Two voices, one masculine and one feminine, responded simultaneously, saying, "Come in!" She did so, and spotted two people of opposing genders doing a quick succession of stretching exercises. They were both pale, practically unnaturally so, in fact, with impossible gray hair for their evident age. When they turned to face her, she took note of the fact that their pupils' colors were nearly indistinguishable from their sclera color. "Hello, and welcome to the Fitness Room! Come for some stretching?" they both said, completely synchronized. Iji was almost tempted to feel unnerved by their eerily similar appearances and mannerisms, but managed to resist. "Y-Yeah. What've you got in store for me?"

"Well, firstly, we have the Bridge…" said the female, getting down on the floor and putting her arms parallel to it. She raised her knees off the floor, and held that pose for several seconds. The male said, "It's great for strengthening both the torso and leg muscles, and, like most other yoga poses, is excellent if you're looking for some relaxation!" Iji propped her gun against the wall (the two trainers hardly seemed to take note of the relatively large weapon in her possession) and attempted to follow the other woman's example. A couple of pointers from the male trainer, and she was practically mirroring the female trainer's example. "Now, hold this pose for two minutes…"

Iji did several more yoga poses with the two pale-skinned beings, the two trainers alternating their turns with the pose example each time they did a different exercise. Several more stretches later, and they both said, "That ought to do it for now! Be sure to come back later for more stretching fun!" Iji sighed a bit, definitely feeling her muscles loosen a bit from before the session. She nodded in affirmation as their request, and stole another glance at the clock.

"Woah! 3:20!? How did the time fly by so fast!?" The two trainers chuckled mildly.

"You tend to not notice how fast time flies when you're doing yoga so much!" the male said.

"But, if it's for a healthier body, then it's definitely time well-spent!" the female said in turn.

Iji nodded again her agreement. Just before she closed the door behind her, she spoke, "Whoops! Almost forgot to ask! Who are you two?" The two smiled.

"We are the Wii Fit Trainers. We teach you how to better your body, and relax your mind!" they said simply.

"Well, by this point, I could definitely see that you're both fitness trainers. But what are your _names_?"

"Names? Why, we do not _need_ names! We are the Wii Fit Trainers! It is both who we are, and _what_ we are!" they exclaimed at the same time. Iji shook her head.

"Well, I can't just go calling you both Wii Fit Trainer! That'd just be weird!"

"Young lady, that would hardly be what you call "weird" in the slightest! It is merely correct!" Iji sighed, this time in frustration.

"Fine, fine. I guess I'll just call you Wii Fit Trainer, then." The two nodded, going back to some stretching exercise or another as Iji closed the door. The male Wii Fit Trainer said to his companion, "She is a nice one, treating us as if we weren't just things."

"Indeed. A shame that we are what we are, then…"

* * *

Iji rushed to the Central Teleporter Room. She had wasted another couple of minutes talking to the Wii Fit Trainers, and she was thusly short on time. It took a couple of glances at the map of the building, but she managed to navigate her way to the room that she was looking for, arriving with four minutes to spare. "Oh, good," said Master Hand, "I was beginning to worry that you were going to be late! Well, you aren't, and I suppose that that's what matters. Has either Robin told you of the rules of Classic Mode yet?" She nodded her head up and down, and Master Hand gave her a thumb up. "Very good. Well, if you'll excuse me for a couple of minutes, I have to make certain that everything is all set to go…"

She did so, and she shuffled and tapped her feet, feeling only slightly anxious. Those couple of minutes quickly, and Master Hand said to Iji, "Everything is good to go." He said next to the crowd of Smashers, "Iji shall commence her Classic run in a few moments!" Iji twisted her head to look over her shoulder, and took note of the fact that most of the seats were filled, much to her astonishment. ' _There were only a couple of them here a few minutes ago_!' she thought, thoroughly flabbergasted. ' _How do they all get here so quickly_!?' She shoved that train of thought aside as Master Hand requested her to stand on the telepad, and she did so readily.

* * *

 _Everything goes quiet_ …

* * *

She was teleported into a room completely devoid of light, with the exception of the large screen in front of her. A figurine of her placed on a golden stand was on a balance, with the other end of it having nothing on it. The scale thusly showed that the odds were likely to be in her favor. In the background, a hole rimmed with stone was present, light filtering in from it. A small black monster with green eyes stood on the far right of the screen. A slow, relaxing breeze could be heard, if one listened for it. On the top of the screen, there was a rainbow-colored meter, with an icon of Iji's head being at the lower end of it, in the green area. "Intensity 2.0", it read. At the very bottom of the display, there was a zero next to the number 1,000. The gold coins right next to the number probably symbolized the money she currently had. Iji was not previously aware of the fact that she had apparently been loaned money, and made a mental note to thank Master Hand for the currency he had given her as soon as possible. Just below the screen, a switch was present. Curiously taking it in a hand, she tilted it to the left, the icon of her head on the Intensity meter scrolling accordingly. She deliberated for an entire minute, not entirely certain as to what difficulty she wanted to play on. She eventually settled on Intensity 5.0, and the background of the screen changed. Most of it was now a bright orange; small piles of gold could be seen in the corners, and the monster's appearance contorted and warped to look more fiercesome. The scale had a small pile of Gold on its left edge, with it now being almost perfectly balanced. Flames could be heard, gently bellowing and filling the room with the only noise besides Iji's breath. She would apparently be wagering 350 Gold in doing this, and would be left with 650. With a deep, calming breath, she selected the large "OK" button next to the switch, finally commencing her first Classic Mode run in Smash…

Master Hand's voice spoke, from both the left and the right:

" _ **Ready**_?"

" _ **GO**_!"


	12. Chapter Eleven: Classic Mode!

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Well, as I said, it took a bit longer than average, but the next chapter is here! I do hope that you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Eleven: Classic Mode!

* * *

Cue music - _Super Smash Brothers for Wii U_ soundtrack - _Classic_ : _Map_

The large screen in front of her vanished, leaving her in the darkness of the room for a few moments. A moderately sized, table-like object then appeared. When Iji drew close, the screen, which the woman was not aware was on it, flashed to life. After her eyes adjusted, she glanced down at it, and took in its contents. Several beings on golden stands dropped down onto a stadium surrounded by a desert; most of these beings she didn't recognize, though she still recognized a few, like Marth and Greninja. Not a second after that, a trophy of her semblance dropped down onto the center of the arena. It was posed as if she were firing her Nanogun, legs separated a good distance and a determined drown upon her features. A certain disembodied hand's voice spoke out:

" _ **Round One**_!"

Taking note of the fact that most of these trophies were clumped together, she pieced together that the ones that were clustered up together were opponents that she would be fighting all at once. A few select trophies had symbols underneath them, likely representing what they would give Iji as a reward if she beat them herself. One specific trophy drew her attention; the stand was a bright blue, and emitted a bright light. The word "Rival" could be seen over its head. Said head belonged to the trophy of a completely black entity with a gray outline. Most oddly, however, was the fact that it appeared to be completely two-dimensional. ' _Definitely weird_ ,' she thought. Taking the lever that was in front of her into a hand, she guided the trophy version of her across the board, and decided to have it make contact with a group of five trophies in the top-right corner.

The screen zoomed in on the group of trophies Iji touched, and it whooshed into blackness. A moment later, the screen came alive again, and Master Hand's voices announced:

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Olimar**_!" He appeared to be a tiny man with an oddly huge nose in a space suit of some kind.

" _ **Samus**_!" An orange battle suit encompassed the entirety of the being, revealing none of its features. A cannon-like weapon mounted on its arm especially drew her attention.

" _ **Donkey Kong**_!" A great ape with, of all things, a bright red _tie_ stood proudly. On the tie were the stylized letters, "DK".

" _ **Toon Link**_!" A cute-looking, blond-haired boy wielding a graceful sword appeared to be running in place. Iji almost felt tempted to squeal at his sheer cuteness, especially with the eyes.

" _ **And**_ … _**Pac**_ - _ **Man**_!" A completely rounded being with a bright yellow coloration was giving a thumbs up, with his gloved hands and boots coming in a shade of red not too dissimilar to Donkey Kong's tie.

A small roulette was visible in the corner, with numbers being paired with either a pile of coins, a red, wrench-like symbol, or a green-colored trophy as they rapidly scrolled by. The numbers likely represented what amount of the things she was going to get. Not really getting what the wrench symbol represented, and thusly curious about it, she attempted to land on it, and succeeded in doing so. The two next to the symbol flashed for a moment, as did the symbol itself. In the adjacent corner, the stage was being shown off. "Green Hill Zone", the text said, with the small picture revealing very little besides the generally bright coloration and clear waters.

A couple of moments later, and she was teleported into the field of battle, the voice of Master Hand once again ringing out:

" _ **Ready**_?"

" _ **GO**_!"

The person closest to her, Toon Link, immediately made a move for her. She quickly dodged out of the way of his dashing sword swing, and gave him a Shotgun blast to his (undeniably large) head for his troubles. He went flying rather easily in comparison to the foes of her first two battles, and she suspected that is wasn't just because of the swordsman's evident light-weightedness. ' _Probably because it_ ' _s just Intensity Five_ ,' she concluded as she fought off the enemies that came for her. ' _They_ ' _d be more difficult to launch on the higher Intensities_ , _I guess_.' She was hit a few times, almost getting KOd, but managed to prevail without losing either of her two Stocks, and even obtained the extraneous reward for KOing Donkey Kong herself.

She was warped back into the black room, and the screen came back to life, this time showing the rewards she had obtained from her battle. Two of them were symbols, one orange with a gun symbol and the other blue with a shirt and a pair of shorts. Iji tapped the screen on them in curiosity. The orange one was a "Deluxe Blaster", and it apparently raised Attack by forty-four and reduced Defense by twenty-five. The other was a set of "Deluxe Clothes", which raised Defense by forty and lowered Speed nineteen points. "Whatever that's supposed to do," Iji mumbled. Tapping the third icon, which was one of her face, it read on, simply word: "Nuke". Iji was none too shocked at this. "Wha – A _Nuke_!? How was Master Hand aware that this thing had those!?" she inquired to the air, clutching her Nanogun a bit tighter. The description below said, "Doesn't launch Iji as far upwards as the MPFB Devastator, but deals minor to moderate damage to enemies in a small radius around her depending on how close they are. Can only be used six times per Stock, unlike the MPFB's eight."

"Well, he apparently toned its power down without my knowing. Seriously, though, how was he…?" She shook her head and sighed, making a mental note to ask the gigantic hand about it later. "Well, what is this supposed to represent, then? Some sort of custom attack?" She shook her head again, clearing her thoughts up a tad. "Better move on. No need to fret about it now…" She did so, hitting the button next to the lever jutting out from the table-like display.

The screen returned to the arena, with all of the opponents next to her being knocked out. A few others were sent flying from their apparent battles, as well, cutting the amount of players in the stadium down to about half its previous number. " _ **Round Two**_!" Master Hand spoke, and Iji was once again left to guide her trophy to the next battle. She did so, making it glide across the stone-surfaced arena and coming into contact with a slightly larger group of trophies that the previous round.

The disembodied hand announced the names of her next group of combatants:

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Luigi**_!" Indeed, it was the plumber that she had met earlier, cap, overalls, and all. She did not know that he apparently had the ability to balance himself to such a degree that he could bend himself at such a steep angle and remain upright on only his toes, however. She could almost consider it freaky, were it not for the overall comical pose that he struck.

" _ **Marth**_!" The emperor was brandishing his blade in his picture, a small, serious frown upon his face.

" _ **Villager**_!" A small, cartoony, young man with brown hair was pumping his fist, likely in anticipation. ' _What kind of name is_ that?' Iji thought bemusedly, reminded rather distinctly of the Wii Fit Trainers.

" _ **Falco**_!" An anthropomorphic bird was seen with his winged arms at his sides, as if he were in the middle of running.

" _ **Charizard**_!" An orange on yellow, dragon-like being with an ignited tail-tip was likely roaring in its picture.

" _ **Mega Man**_!" The (mostly) blue android was seen raising his arm cannon upwards, as if to appear intimidating. Needless to say, especially with his huge eyes, it didn't really work.

" _ **And**_ … _**Peach**_!" A… well, _peachy_ -looking woman - a princess of some sort, judging by the crown – who was wearing an elaborate pink dress was elegantly reaching a hand out.

The stage would be a place called Skyworld, which had several slate-yellow platforms hovering on top of a series of clouds. That stage looked to be rather small, especially with the fact that eight people would all be duking it out at once in the relatively small area. Selecting her after-battle reward, which would apparently be two trophies, she was warped in just after the button was pressed.

" _ **Ready**_?"

" _ **GO**_!"

Everyone went at each other at once, typically doing so in pairs; Peach versus Charizard, Villager versus Marth, et cetera. For Iji's part, she was going against Mega Man, though the pairings changed up several times due to the ease at which the artificial players were sent flying. After a couple of minutes, during which many items and people were sent used and launched, the only two left were Iji and Charizard. It attempted to use a flaming head-butt attack on her, but Iji backed off, already knowing by watching it fight that it was somewhat limited in terms of range. He was then blasted it in the face with a Rocket, and the Pokémon was sent into the Blast Zone, scoring Iji her second victory. Like in the first battle, she had yet to lose a Stock.

The trophies she obtained as a reward were of one if a man named Doctor Stewart, and his machine, the Golden Fox. The other was depicting some sort of heart-shaped monster called a Clubberskull, which had (fittingly enough) pieces of a huge skull at the ends of its limbs. Iji only glanced at each of them for a moment before she moved on, returning to the representation of the arena. Only one group of trophies remained, with the Rival being adjacent to the two other two foes. Joining in on their battle, Master Hand announced:

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Little Mac**_!" It was the boxer she had met earlier in the Training Room, gloves on and all.

" _ **Pit**_!" An angel is what he appeared to be, with bright blue eyes, scruffy brown hair, and a golden bow with blue highlights.

" _ **And**_ … _**Mr**_. _**Game and Watch**_!"

' _So_ that's _his name_ , _huh_?' she thought as she selected her reward, that being one-hundred and forty coins. The stage she was teleported to was the Coliseum, and it appeared to be just that; a large, medieval-style arena, with large gargoyle-like statues in the background and sand flowing freely in the breeze. When Master Hand said " _ **GO**_!" Mr. Game and Watch immediately ran for the one next to him, that being Little Mac. The latter was dealt with quickly by the two-dimensional being, and Iji knocked out Pit with relative ease as well.

The two remaining combatants had a momentary stare-down, and a couple of seconds of this later, the ground beneath Iji unexpectedly rose. Game and Watch took this opportunity to make his move, charging at her from below and attacking her with… a _fish bowl_? She raised a brow at this curiosity as she landed with a roll, but pushed that thought aside as she pelted him with Machine Gun rounds. Unlike every other opposing entity thus far, he appeared to have a normal knockback ratio, making him comparatively harder to launch than normal, even with his being two-dimensional and thusly very light. The mostly black being attempted to give her a head-butt, but she shot him with her Pulse Cannon, momentarily halting his advance and giving Iji the opportunity to regain her distance. She did so with swiftness, and the green-eyed human gave Game and Watch a Rocket to the face for the missed follow-up aerial attack. This one involved swatting her with a cardboard box. ' _What kind of guy is he supposed to be_ , _using things like that to attack people_?' she thought repeatedly, even as she was finally hit, the blow being delivered by a hammer. The number "7" appeared over Mr. Game and Watch's head, as if to signify its power. The human took a decent amount of damage from the attack, with Game and Watch taking in the apple spawned from the hit and eating it, recovering a bit of his health. Iji quickly recovered, sprinting over and readying her Shotgun. Game and Watch dodged the blow with a roll to the side, and he gave her a head-butt, this time connecting. He used a gust from a pipe of some kind to hit her while in the air. Iji didn't take any real amount of damage from it, but she _was_ blown higher into the air, letting her opposition take some time to get another attack ready. Mr. Game and Watch then sprung into the air with a parachute, and hit her with a turtle, scoring some additional damage on her. As Iji roughly tumbled to the ground, Game and Watch ran up to her and swung the hammer down again. This one was far more devastating, as it was a Nine. One could hear the loud crack of a bat as it connected with Iji's face, sending her flying at extreme speeds into the Blast Zone, resulting in Iji to lose her first Stock of her run. The temporary victor of the encounter rang a bell, a couple of beeps following afterwards as he shook it.

Iji sighed, both angered at his apparent luck and relieved that Stocks were refreshed after every battle. Iji sprinted toward Game and Watch again, but was interrupted as a black bat spawned in front of her. Taking it in a hand (though it was a bit awkward to wield, as she was a righty holding a large item in her left hand), she gave it an experimental twirl, before shaking her head, tossing it into the air. The being with a gray outline was approaching again, and Iji decided to mix her attack strategy up a little, grabbing him with her free hand instead of firing her Nanogun, thusly not giving him the time he needed to dodge. Quickly getting an idea, she tossed him into the air, as well as into the bat she had tossed not two seconds ago. He did not have the time to dodge, getting hit on the head and sent flying. This ended up KOing him, and Iji sighed again, this time exclusively in relief.

She obtained the money from her victory, as well as the three Custom Items that her Rival dropped upon defeat by her hands. When the representation of the stadium came into view on the table screen, everyone but Iji had been eliminated. ' _Is that it_?' Iji pondered. ' _Bubbled said that there_ ' _d be seven rounds, not three_ …' And then a new wave of trophies plopped onto the battlefield, though, this time, the trophies of the Smashers were of them striking alternative poses. Their colorations were different, as well, with some of them even having different skin tones. ' _Freaky_ ,' she thought as Master Hand told Iji and the spectators that it was now " _ **Round Four**_!" She slid her trophy over to the bottom-right corner. The screen promptly darkened and lit up as Iji met with the next group of combatants, and her opponents were as follows:

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Diddy Kong**_!" He appeared to be a more chimpanzee-like Donkey Kong, what with his significantly smaller size, though he also had a hat and a shirt to differentiate them.

" _ **Zelda**_!" Iji recalled seeing this woman among the crowd in the teleporter room, though she distinctly remembered that she had brown hair and a purple on white dress rather than blond hair and significantly more brightly colored clothes.

" _ **Ike**_!" Iji remembered Marth mentioning this man as one of his closer friends when they met. Judging by Zelda's differing clothes from her normal appearance, however, Iji could assume that he probably didn't wear a large amount of black. ' _Wasn_ ' _t he that guy who gave me some applause after my fight with Falcon_?' the pondered with a small smile. She had to remember to thank him for that when they actually meet for the first time.

" _ **And**_ … _**Alph**_!" His pose and _especially_ the little plant-like beings following him (' _Pikmin_ , _was it_?') reminded her a lot of Olimar, and she subsequently inferred that he probably behaved fairly similarly to him in combat.

Teleporting onto the stage known as Distant Planet, Iji duked it out with her opponents, though she couldn't help but notice something was… _different_ , about the way they moved. She made another mental note to ask the over-lord of the World of Trophies about what made these new combatants different from the previous ones. Another few minutes later, and they were all finished off, with Iji beginning to feel a little fatigued, even with the short breaks between matches. ' _Good thing I_ ' _m more than half_ - _way done_ , _then_!' she thought as she was teleported back into the darkened room.

Iji mumbled the expected words alongside Master Hand as he said, " _ **Round Five**_!" Moving the trophy to the group of remaining trophies, who were once again in the center of the stadium, the screen darkened accordingly. It remained there for roughly a second longer, and just as Iji was beginning to think that the system had glitched, a larger than average trophy with a yellow glow dropped onto the battlefield, squashing and replacing one beneath its apparent weight. She recognized this one instantly; it was clearly Mario, though this trophy depicted him with clothes of differing colors, like all of the other foes of this round and the previous one. An image showing a small pile of gold could be seen on the stand of his trophy. " _ **Intruder Alert**_!"

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Fox**_!" What an apt name that was; he was a bipedal fox wearing a complex-looking outfit. A gun of some type or another could be seen on his belt.

" _ **And**_ … _**Metal Mario**_!"

Iji was now on a stage called Dream Land. Its general features reminded Iji of video game from quite a long time ago, especially the all-around "low polygon count" look to it, so to speak. Master Hand's voice initiated the battle, and Iji went for the gray, metallic version of Mario first, seeing as how he was probably the greater threat. He was rather slow of moving, so Iji got the first strike off, grabbing him and throwing him, shooting him up with the Shotgun immediately afterward. Due to his metallic composition, he was barely sent flying by even the relatively strong attack. A few attacks later (during which the AI-controlled version of Fox made the foolish decision to interfere; he was KOd in a short fifteen seconds), and Metal Mario was still not budging, even from a couple of blasts from the Rocket Launcher. This was when Iji got the idea to grab him (it was quite difficult with his large amount of weight) and simply throw him off the edge of the stage. With a bit of help from her trusty MPFB Devastator, gravity in combination with physics did its job and made Metal Mario plummet into the Blast Zone at near-impressive speeds. Claiming her rewards of the fight (her cache of winnings was beginning to get a bit large; she nearly had a dozen separate things by this point), she was teleported into the room of darkness for the sixth time.

All of the opposing trophies were cleared from the board for the second time, with Iji's standing proudly in the center. " _ **Round Six**_!" A third wave of trophies rained down and surrounded Iji's from all directions, as if to intimidate her with their numbers.

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Fighting Mii Team**_!" The corner of the screen revealed that there were twenty of them to take out, and Iji probably would have been intimated by their sheer quantity were it not for their goofy, cartoony faces and silly suits. She almost felt tempted to laugh at the blatantly ridiculous characteristics of a couple of them, but barely managed to refrain. Master Hand brought her to Battlefield, and she spotted five of them moving in on her position as the master of the World of Trophies allowed the fight to commence. She gave the two that came close a Shotgun blast, and they were flung across the stage and KOd easily. ' _Guess it_ ' _s quantity over quality for these guys_ ,' she concluded as she made another few Miis fly. They didn't exactly appear all that intelligent, either; a couple were just alternating between crouching and standing fully as they stood in place, not really doing anything productive, at least for the cause of making the woman lose. Needless to say, they were quite easy to take care of, even with the large amount of explosives that were being spawned in. On even landed directly on her head, going off immediately and nearly getting her KOd. She was (very understandably) frustrated that she nearly lost a life to terrible luck, and settled on taking this immediate anger out on the remaining Miis. They were taken out with little difficulty; most hardly even attempted to attack her, whether they had fist, sword, or arm cannon equipped.

After that battle was over, the screen that Iji had been looking at quite often for the past twenty or so minutes flashed back onto the desert stadium. " _ **Final Round**_!" The entire screen was then enveloped in a black and purple aura, with the same happening to the room Iji was in. She backed off from the menacing aura as it closed in on her, though it still came closer and closer. As soon as it came within a few inches of touching her, she was teleported onto a platform, seemingly in the middle of space. ' _Wait a second_ … _I recognize this place_!' Indeed; Master Hand had shown her this stage when he was attempting to convince Iji to give him a portion of her world's technology. Master Hand's voice emanated from everywhere and nowhere at once, though it was notably clearer than all of his previous announcements.

" _ **Versus**_ … _**Master Hand**_!" The giant hand floated down next to arena, laughing evilly and clenching his fist menacingly. " _ **And**_ …" A second laugh rang out, though this one almost seemed… _warped_ , as if it were coming from a mad man.

That same secondary laugh said for Master Hand once it was done chortling: " _ **Crazy Hand**_!"

"Oh, come _on_ , Brother! You never let me say the second part of that line!" the right hand said to the left as he floated down to the opposite end of the arena, sounding none too frustrated.

"No, _you_ come on! _You_ never let _me_ introduce _myself_!" Crazy Hand complained back, floating over next to the (mildly freaked out) woman. "So, then, she is going to be out opponent this time? Oh, you are going to be _fun_ to fight! I can already tell!" he spoke, giggling childishly as he repeatedly booped her on the nose with an index finger, with the last, slightly more forceful poke sending Iji tumbling to the ground. Master Hand sighed, thoroughly aggravated by his newly revealed brother's antics, clenching his fist again as if to vent some of his irritation.

"Can we get started, Brother? I believe that our foe wishes to get this over with. _And away from you_ …" He mumbled that second part.

"What was that last part, my brother?" inquired Crazy Hand, appearing completely innocent to the comment.

"Oh, _nothing_ ," Crazy Hand giggled again, seemingly for no reason.

Iji spoke up as she rubbed her sore bum: "Like Master Hand said: can we get started? I'm kinda' getting tired from all of this fighting, and, well… To be brutally honest, you're sort of freaking me out, Crazy Hand." Said appendage giggled for a _fourth time_. "Oh, I don't mind! I get that a lot!"

"Very well, then!" Master Hand clenched his fist again, as did his sibling, and they bumped their fists together, the small stage beneath them quaking from the sheer force of the contact and finally commencing the last battle of Iji's Classic Mode run…


	13. Chapter Twelve: Final Battle!

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

When this chapter is posted, _Dimensions and Realities_ will have broken thirty-thousand words! There's yet another milestone achieved! Here's to getting to forty-thousand, and keeping the story up! Without further delay (aside from the disclaimer and titles), here is the twelfth chapter of this story, as well as the somewhat climactic (and mysterious, as you shall see) end to our protagonist' Classic Mode run!

… Ah, and apologies, o realisticFantasy o, as this is _not_ the chapter where Ganon's antics are revealed! It'll be the next one, I promise you that!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twelve: Final Battle!

* * *

Cue music - _Super Smash Brothers for Wii U/3DS_ soundtrack - _Master Hand_

Iji initiated the battle with a Rocket to Master Hand, which connected just as he began to prepare an attack. Said attack was a startlingly fast, horizontal slap across the entirety of the stage. Iji had only barely managed to jump over it in time when Crazy Hand floated over and grabbed her, squashing her in his clenched fists a few times before Iji managed to break out of his grip. Iji felt her strength being ebbed away at the tip of her head, and grabbed the flower that was evidently doing so, plucking it off of her head before re-focusing on the battle. Master Hand had been gathering a bright orange ball of flame while Crazy Hand had kept her occupied, and flung it upward before taking it back in his hand and clenching it tightly, sending smaller balls of flame scattering around the arena. Iji was only hit by two of them, and they hardly hurt that much, but everyone little bit of damage she took, however small or large, still hindered her chances at victory against the sibling hands.

Crazy Hand had gathered his own ball of energy, as well, and he seemed to shrug off the bullets he took from Iji's Nanogun as he charged up the attack. Like Master Hand, he flung it into the air, though instead of detonating it in mid-air, he pushed it downward as it descended, adding both to its speed and power. The attack connected, and the human felt herself being blown away by the force of the attack. Grabbing onto the ledge, she hoisted herself up, only to find Master Hand clench himself into a fist and slam downward onto the stage. She hoisted herself back onto the platform and jumped back off-stage just as he crashed into the ground, an explosion erupting from the impact. Master Hand grunted softly in pain as he quite literally shook off the pain of the self-inflicted damage, and he was again hit with one of Iji's Rockets while he did so. Crazy Hand, meanwhile, had backed off from the stage a good distance, creating a bright green ball and tossing it over to his sibling. He bounced it back over onto the stage and into Iji's vicinity, though she rolled out of the way just in the nick of time. Another few spheres were created and thrown, until Master Hand rose off the stage himself, creating a significantly larger sphere and chucking it over to the left hand. He caught it before giving it a rough throw in Iji's direction, though she managed to roll out of the way of this one, as well.

Crazy Hand gave a huff of frustration at her (to him, at least) incessant dodginess before he saw Master Hand gesture over to him, waggling a finger and opening up his hand. Crazy Hand immediately understood his intent, and curled up into a fist, flying over at high speeds into the offered space. Iji didn't quite have the time to get out of the way of this attack, and, as a result, was sent tumbling off of Final Destination. Even with her recently acquired ability to double jump and a third jump with an MPFB shot, she was too far down from the stage to make it back and lost her first Stock of two to the hands.

Iji hopped off the respawn platform as soon as she was close enough to the ground to be allowed off. Getting her MPFB ready again, she hopped above Crazy Hand and fired it off on him, dealing a larger amount of damage than average to the apparently insane appendage. He gave a grunt of pain before he angled his fingers upward, flying up and then crashing back down in a drill-like motion. Iji managed to evade the attack, but forgot about Master Hand, who was flying up behind her and readying for a grab. She managed to dodge this assault, as well, if only by a very small margin.

Iji shot Crazy Hand with yet another explosive, and all of a sudden, he _screeched_ in pain, dramatically saying, in an oddly child-like fashion, " _ **Noooooo**_!" As he flew off, purple and black explosions trailed from where his wrist would be. The entire battlefield seemed to momentarily freeze as this happened, though Master Hand recovered quickly from his brother's loss, contorting himself into a paper airplane-like shape before flying off stage, whooshing back in like a missile heading straight for Iji. She dodged out of the way yet again before pelting the remaining hand with bullets, now able to more efficiently keep her distance from a few of his attacks. Master Hand, seeing this, began flapping himself up and down, a fierce gust bellowing forth merely from the sheer force of it. Iji sprinted toward the hand, really beginning to feel her exhaustion kicking in, evading the small ice crystals that were also created in the wind. Master Hand relented as she drew close, and instead opted to fire lasers from his finger-tips in the most random manner he could manage, as to make it unpredictable. Iji was grazed by the beams of energy a couple of times, as she knew that she was now getting very close to winning, and was thusly focused on shooting Master Hand as much as possible to defeat him as quickly as she could rather than dodge his attacks. ' _Haven_ ' _t gotten hit much this life_ , _anyway_!'

A few more dodges on Iji's part and several more wounds and Master Hand later, and he, too, shouted " _ **Noooooo**_!", exploding the same way as Crazy Hand did not a minute earlier. Before he truly flew off, however, he spasmed violently for a second, and some strange black flecks flew out of the hole in his wrist, flying over to Iji before she could comprehend what was going on and –

* * *

 _The empty black is so very silent_ …

* * *

…

 **-.- - ..-**

…

 **.- ... -**

…

 **... .- ...- .. - .-.**

…

 **-.. .-. . .- - ...**

…

 **\- .**

 **\- .- ... - . .-.**

* * *

" _Gah_!" Iji cried out, very much unnerved and shocked at what had just occurred. "What the Hell…!?" She didn't have the time to ruminate on this further, however, as she was teleported off of Final Destination and into the room in the center of the mansion. As soon as she flashed into the room, nearly all of the other Smashers got up and applauded for her, most with enthusiastic and appreciative smiles on their faces, likely for both her skill and the show that she had put on for them. Iji scratched her head a bit in awkwardness at their wordless praise, still distracted by the anomaly that happened to her. ' _What was that_ …?' she wondered. ' _I couldn_ ' _t see anything_ , _nor could I feel_. _I still could hear_ , _though_. _What was with that beeping_ …?' Robin and Bubbles both came down this time, with the female version saying, "Congratulations on your successful Classic Mode run!" Robin continued for Bubbles: "Your rewards for the day will be awaiting you in your room, after the banquet. Speaking of which, you had better get yourself cleaned up; it's starting in an hour, at five!" Bubbles noticed that she wasn't paying them all of her attention, what with her eyes seeming to be gazing at their coats rather than their faces. "You appear to be distracted. Is something the matter?" she inquired, quirking a brow.

Iji considered telling them, though they probably wouldn't grasp it, nor would they be capable of doing anything about it, so she answered, "Nah. I'm fine. Oh, and by the way, how's Master Hand and his bro doing? Last time I checked, they were screaming in pain and _exploding_ , so…"

"I believe that he's fine. We're newcomers here as well, you see, so we had to fight those two like you just did. When the banquet happened, they appeared as if the fight hadn't even happened in the first place. I suppose that quick regeneration just comes with being that powerful." Iji let out a grunt of nonchalance, and asked the parallel Robins to move aside so she could clean herself and get some rest for the incoming feast. They did so, exchanging a curious glance before heading out themselves, everyone else present in the room flowing out of the door soon afterwards.

After showering, Iji lazily propped her weapon up against her bed, and laid herself down, hands behind her head. The woman almost feeling tempted to doze off, but managed to refrain, even as she yawned loudly. She continued her earlier pondering over the mysterious black substance, and whatever it did to her, and the time passed quickly as she did so. Before she knew it, it was a quarter to five, and she eventually figured that this train of thought wasn't really going to arriving at any rational stations any time soon. Getting up with a second yawn, she figured that she didn't really need her weapon as she exited the room, leaving it behind as it leaned lazily against the bed. It plopped to the ground with a "Thump" a couple of seconds later, as it to mock Iji on her own laziness for not actually putting it on, say, the nearby nightstand.

Arriving at the dining room a minute later (she was beginning to get used to the lay-out of the building), and she sat herself down at the seat at the tip of the table. She assumed that she was supposed to sit here, anyway. She was supposed to have this feast in her honor (she was _not_ , on the other hand, used to these sorts of things happening _just_ for her), so she figured that this would be the place for her to sit, where everyone could look at her easily (' _Still not a fan of being in front of crowds_!').

A few minutes after five, and everyone was seated at the table (with the exception of Ganondorf, Iji noted), delicious-looking plates filled with varying foods appearing in front of everyone as Master Hand and his brother teleported into the room. Master Hand gave a short speech: "Smashers! We are gathered here this night to celebrate the arrival of another newcomer: Iji Kataiser, the Human Anomaly!" Iji's brows shot up, wondering yet again how Master Hand comes by these pieces of information even though _no one tells him about it_. "She is here for more personal reasons than most, yet I ask that you treat her as an equal, as you do to every other Smasher here!" A bipedal being that seemed to be equal parts turtle and dragon scoffed, though Master Hand ignored this. "That is all!"

He vanished from sight, and everyone promptly began to dig in, with some going so more eloquently than others. Marth, for example, was using the proper knives for certain foods and chewed his food slowly with his mouth closed, yet an obese, yellow-clad man that resembled Mario was taking in every little bit of food close to him (including from nearby plates belonging to others; this earned him many scowls and a few curses) and eating as fast as possible, mouth open and all, making the most noise out of everyone present and _then_ _some_.

Iji recognized the person sitting next to her as Iji, and she remembered the mental note she made about him during her run of Classic Mode. "Hey. You're Ike, right?"

His blue eyes glanced over in her direction, and he swallowed his large chunk of meat before answering her, "Yeah, that's me. What is it?" Iji smiled a bit at his bluntness, again appreciating the wide variety of people this event possessed.

"I just wanted to thank you for being the first to get up and clap for me." His brows raised, as if just now remembering it.

"You're welcome, I suppose. Is that all you wanted to say?" She nodded, and he went back to consuming his food, which was almost entirely consisted of some type of meat or another. Iji did likewise, though she did so with a bit less speed.

Approximately an hour later, and everyone was just finishing up with their respective dinners, most finishing up with their conversations, getting up, and putting the plates in one of three sinks. Iji recognized the woman who was cleaning the dishes as Peach, but she didn't really pay her any heed, aside from a small wave. Peach did likewise with a graceful smile, appreciative of the gesture.

Seeing as how it was still almost two hours before eight, and, subsequently, her meeting with Ganondorf, Iji figured that she would socialize a bit. She met several people that night, including the sloppily eating man, Wario (she could tell that she already wouldn't like him), Dark Pit (he was clearly a grump, though she still thought that they'd probably get along eventually), Lucario (like Mewtwo, he spoke through telepathy. Aside from that, though, he appeared amiable enough), and Shulk (he had what could easily be considered an English accent, and was very polite and easy to get along with. He also wanted to know about her gun worked, though, like before, she couldn't really answer his question, as she didn't know how it truly worked).

She also attempted to have a conversation with Greninja, but remembered that Pokémon can apparently only verbally speak the singular word that is their name. She scratched her head again when she realized this, and fared him well in an equally awkward manner. The Ninja Pokémon waved as she left, raising an eyelid in curiosity for what she was going to say.

It was now just a few short minutes before the clock struck eight, and Iji navigated the manor-like building, hunting for Room Fifteen. With a bit of aid from the map, she came to it, a minute to spare on the clock.

She knocked thrice, and the pseudo-baritone voice of the King of the Gerudo answered: "Come in, girl. I have been waiting for your arrival."


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Determination

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

 _Heeeere_ ' _s Ganon_!

… As well as Iji's backstory, if you aren't already privy to it. That may or may not be as important, though…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Thirteen: Determination

* * *

Cue music - _The Legend of Zelda_ : _The Wind Waker_ soundtrack - _Ganondorf on Forsaken Fortress_

"It is good for you that you are here on time. I do not tolerate idiotic or forgetful fools lightly," he spoke, his tone even despite his words as Iji walked into the relatively dark room. From what she could discern, it was rather fanciful; tapestries of varying insignias lined a few of the walls, most a deep red or rich brown. The bed appeared to be a size too big, even for a man of Ganondorf's size, as if it were an emperor's bed rather than any other person's. The room also notably lacked windows; either that, or the curtains blended in with the walls so well they were indiscernible from them. A feather pen dipped in black ink could be spotted on a lavish desk, a candle emitting a soft red flame next to it.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Iji inquired, beginning to slowly get used to the hulking man's presence.

"Just what it means, girl. Sit yourself down anywhere you wish, but make as little a mess as possible."

"And I've told you, my name is _Iji_. Get it right!" she spoke in an aggravated manner.

"I shall begin to call you by your name _if_ and _when_ you earn my respect, _girl_. That time is likely to be far off, if it happens _at all_ ," he spoke with a deep frown, dragging the ornate chair over with a single hand and setting it down a few away from the resting object that was the bed.

Iji merely humph'd, and sat down on the corner of the bed, not letting go of her Nanogun due to her lack of trust for the apparently evil man. Ganondorf, upon seeing this, chuckled mildly. "I see that you have yet to drop your weapon in my presence. A wise sentiment, that." Iji just shook her head at his praise.

"Yeah, yeah. Why do you even want with me here, anyways?"

Ganondorf responded after a moment to consider his phrasing: "Like I said previously in that Smash Run, you have piqued my interest. A previous competitor in these meetings, a man by the name of Solid Snake, used a weapon not too dissimilar to yours. It fired only explosives, yet I believe that the concept between his weapon and yours is the same: to hurt and kill." The woman nodded at his ascertation, though she frowned in a contradictory manner to the previous gesture, not really comfortable with the subject of death. "I have been told that I am an excellent judger of character, and I assure that that observation is entirely true. Just by looking at you, I can tell that you are not one for harming and, by extension, killing… Which begs the question of why you carry such a lethal device as that around, as well as the circumstances that lead to you obtaining such an item," he spoke, pointing at her gun accordingly. Iji didn't seem _nervous_ , per se, but she was definitely startled by his notably quick wit.

"And why would you need to know that?" Iji quipped back, once again attempting to confront her fears of the Gerudo King.

"I'm afraid that I'm not giving you the option to walk away here and not tell me what I want to know, if that is what you are trying to get at, _girl_ ," he said, getting off of his seat and taking a menacing step forward. "You will either explain yourself, or you will end up severely maimed when you _crawl your way_ out of my living space."

Iji got up herself, pointing her gun at his head in an equally threatening manner. "Yeah? I've taken on a Komato General and _lived_ , and trust me when I say that fighting one is way, _way_ worse than whatever _you_ can do!" They stared each other down for the next several seconds, with Iji hardly being intimidated by his height, which was even larger than hers.

The King of Evil let out an exhale, a grin coming to his face as he then proceeded to laugh heartily. "Hah hah hah! Yes, I like your guts, girl! You're _almost_ as brave as those oh so pesky Bearers of Courage that I have fought!" He backed off slightly, falling into his chair as he stifled his laughter. Iji reluctantly did the same, except, of course, with the fact that it was a bed she was landing on, instead. "I like you, girl. At least, more than most of the other _bafoons_ here. That still does not mean that I shall simply let you go, however. I would recommend that you start talking before I seriously make you."

Iji sighed, knowing that Ganondorf wouldn't be giving her a solution to this problem without violence. "All right, all right," she relented, "it's kind of a long story, though."

"I've all the time in this world and my own," he replied, a tad enigmatically. Iji raised a brow, but brushed the thought aside.

"Well, if you insist… Can I go get a drink really quick, though? I'm probably going to be needing a few sips of something as I tell you my story…"

The former Gerudo tribesman grunted. "You've five minutes. Hurry along." Iji got up and walked out the door, doing so a bit quickly as to return within the time Ganondorf had given her.

She grabbed the beverage she wanted (it was a canned one that the woman didn't really bother to remember the brand of) and hurried back, thinking about how to get the events of the past week and a half in an efficient and straight-to-the-point kind of manner. After sitting herself down again on the bed in Room Fifteen, she began:

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _All That Can Wait_

"Well, it all started on a pretty average day. It was a bit cloudy, as well as a bit cold, but it was early October, so that was normal enough. My dad got the idea to take me, my brother, Dan, and my sister, Mia, to the local research complex. It was apparently a sort of "Bring Your Kid to Work Day" over there, and Dad figured, "Why not?" So we went along, however much we complained, and then, roughly an hour into the tour, I spotted these weird, spotty lights in the sky from a window. I heard a bunch of of explosions, and next thing I knew, I was waking up from a coma six months later. They did some surgery on me during that time, giving me some motion amplifiers in my arms and legs - I don't specifically know what those do or how they function, either, so don't ask - and a Nanofield that protects me from things that would kill most other people in a single hit. It also auto-translated the Tasen-Komato language into English, and vice-versa, so that we could understand each other. Dan, who was the only human survivor I know of, talked to me over the intercoms, and told me to head to this guy called Krotera, the leader of the alien fleet that caused the destruction of our planet." A brief pause to take a sip from her beverage.

"The aliens are called the Tasen, by the way. So, I did just that, though along the way, my bro kept on telling me that I should kill the Tasen I come across. I ignored him, 'cause I didn't want to kill anyone, regardless of what they did, and when I got to Sector Three, which was where Krotera was, I met this one Tasen called Vateilika. She noticed that I was pacifistic, and we subsequently formed a truce between me and the squad she belonged to, which, thankfully for her and I, patrolled most of Sector Three. I ignored them, and they ignored me. When I got to Krotera, he was about to fight me, saying that the human race should be thankful that they are the last to fall to them, and that they killed us to make room for themselves, as they were running from these other aliens, the Komato. Then, out of nowhere, Vateilika came along and shot him in the back with an MPFB. His Nanofield didn't have the time to concentrate around an area of predicted damage, as he wasn't expecting the attack; he died almost instantly." She took a deep breath, as if to get the gruesome memory out of her head, before she took another sip from the can.

"Vateilika killed him because he was apparently a terrible leader who murdered his own troops if they went against him. She told me that I should take the blame for his death, as to not let a civil war for power start among the remaining Tasen, and walked off. Dan told me to head to the next Sector and find a terminal to contact the Komato, so they could wipe out the Tasen and let the last of us humans attempt to start living again. When I got to the terminal, I am unafraid to admit that I wimped out; I didn't want to be responsible for a million or so deaths."

A third sip.

"Well, it turned out that I didn't even need to contact them in the first place. They came down anyways, as they already knew that the last of the Tasen were here, and killed all but a dozen or so of them. Those last dozen-ish are the last Tasen in the universe, by the way." She sighed depressingly.

"The Komato were then going to Alpha Strike Earth again - that's the same weapon the Tasen used on us the first time - to ensure that the Tasen would truly go extinct. I headed to Sector X after meeting with the last of the Tasen to talk some sense into the Komatos' leader, General Tor, and convince him to call off the Alpha Strike."

She took yet another sip from her drink, and said, in tone of voice that emitted a slight amount of curiosity: "I met a strange guy along the way a couple of times. He wore this weird set of black and white clothes, and had these piercing red eyes." She shuddered momentarily. "It was like they were staring into my soul, or something. He had pointed ears, too, as if he weren't human." Another small intake of liquid. "I wondered for a little while if I hallucinated him up, but I'm fairly certain that he wasn't; he came by and apparently teleported these two famous Komato, Annihilator Iosa and Assassin Asha, away. I'm not sure what he was up to, what he was, or what happened to Iosa and Asha. I'm just glad I didn't kill them, and they didn't kill me." Ganondorf hummed, a bit intrigued by this mysterious entity, though he silenced himself as Iji resumed:

"Oh, anyways, back to General Tor: he refused to call off the attack, acknowledging that my arguments made sense, but his people's will was his as well, regardless of whether he wanted it or not. He didn't want to Strike the planet, but the rest of the Komato did, so he was left with no other choice. I was forced to fight him, and I ended up barely winning. Tor was impressed by my skill, and called off the Alpha Strike, leaving me, Dan, and the remaining Tasen on Earth alone. He said that he was sick of being responsible for killing so many people, regardless of whether they were Tasen or not, and decided to not return to the fleet he was in charge of. He said after that that he now had nothing to live for, and that he now had no home to return to, even if Earth recovered from the Tasens' Alpha Strike…" Another depressed sigh. "I think he was about to _kill himself_ , judging from the way he worded it. That strange man came by again, however, and stopped him before he could, and teleporting him away, as well. He told me then: "You have done a great deed, Iji Kataiser. Take pride in your feat, and do be sure to get some rest. You have not rested in the past two days, after all." He vanished himself after that with a chuckle, and I did just as he suggested an hour later."

One last sip, and the can was emptied.

"About a week later, and a teleporter went on the fritz. I went through it to make sure that whatever was in this world didn't pose a threat to me or the other survivors, and I met Master Hand. He offered supplies to begin repairing my ruined world, and, in exchange, he would get a bit of our Nanotechnology, and I would fight in Smash Brothers. It was a no-brainer; of course I said yes! And here I am now," she finished, putting her mouth to the can, only to find that it was now empty. "Darn," she cursed mildly. The King of Evil hummed once again.

"My curiosity has been slaked, girl. You have been through quite a lot, it would seem." Iji merely scratched at her unruly head of hair.

"Well, now that I go over my story and tell it to someone else, I suppose that I did." A glance at the old-fashioned clock on the desk revealed to Iji that it was now nearly nine. "Woah! Nearly nine! Better get to bed!" she exclaimed, getting up to exit the room and go to her own (or, rather, Mewtwo's).

"Before you leave, girl, I've one more question for you."

"Yeah?"

"What kept you going through your journey? Your bond to your remaining family? Your need to keep your home safe? Maybe even your need for justice?"

She thought for a few moments, then responded, "Actually? I think it was all three. That, and my determination. General Tor said that I have a ridiculous amount of will power to fight through so many Tasen and Komato, especially one like him. Now that I think about it, I suppose that I do." A grin. "And I'm damn proud of it." Ganondorf once again chuckled.

"You are indeed an interesting one, especially considering your age. We shall exchange words again, Iji Kataiser, and soon," he said with a grin of his own.

"If you want, Ganondorf!" She closed the door as she left, and Ganondorf began taking off his armor, preparing himself for sleep. "Certainly an interesting one," he murmured, "and certainly worth my time and attention…"

After showering once again, Iji made sure to knock thrice before walking into Room Thirty-Four, as to not interrupt anything the Pokémon may be doing. The door slowly creaked open, much like last night, and Iji walked in a bit less wearily this time, closing the door behind her. He spotted him floating in a corner, paw-like hands connected, head tilted down and eyes closed, as if he were asleep. " _Human_ ," his voice echoed in Iji's mind, " _I am meditating at the moment_. _If you are to go to bed, do as quickly and as silently as possible_."

"Right, right," she said dismissively, hopping into the plush, purple bed. "You still sure you don't want to use this thing?" she murmured as she wrapped the blankets around her, all clothes except shoes still on her person. " _Absolutely certain_ , _yes_. _You have already slept on it last night_ , _regardless_ ; _I do not wish to share a bed with_ any _human_ , _used previously or not_." Iji sleepily grumbled, already feeling sleep creeping up on her conscious. ' _Must_ ' _ve been all of the things today_. _More exhausted than I think_ …' she thought with a yawn. She was out like a light a mere five minutes later, her hair already being tangled into knots as she shifted in her sleep...


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Innocence

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Well, I hope that the previous chapter was sufficiently enlightening in terms of Iji's back-story, and that this one will entertain you even more than the last. Yet again, I ask merely that you enjoy your reading of this story!

… Ah, yes, and apologies for the significantly longer than average delay. I've been working on the first chapter of my new story. Check it out on my profile once it's posted, if you feel that you want. This also means that this story's updates will be that much slower, and for that, I apologize yet again.

It also probably doesn't help that a fairly large update came out for a game that I play, _Terraria_. It's just that much more addicting to play than it already was!

One warning for the next few chapters: they're probably going to be a bit shorter than average. There's going to be some "slice of life-y" chapters coming in the next couple of weeks. Better let the suspense for our antagonist mellow out a bit, hmm?

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Fourteen: Innocence

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Iji woke once again in the World of Trophies, blinking drearily at the dream she had. The beeping she had heard at the end of her fight with Master Hand returned, and she still couldn't understand an iota of what it all mean, if the series of beeps even meant anything to begin with. She shrugged the thought off with a yawn, stretching a bit as she got out of bed. She noticed that Mewtwo was nowhere in the room, but she didn't really find that fact to be too important, pushing the thought aside as her spine occasionally popped with her stretching. Grabbing her shoes, she opened the door and walked out of the primarily purple room, intending to walk over to the kitchen and grab herself some breakfast and talk with the people she knew if they happened to be there.

Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Awakening_ soundtrack - " _Here we are! The Shepherd's garrison_."

A decent chunk of the Smashers were already seated at the table or otherwise grabbing their food, though nearly all of them were conversing with one another. Peach was having an idle chat with a person in a somewhat similar dress to her, with the exception of its cyan coloration and faint, prismatic collection of stars on the bottom, and Marth was conversing with his descendant, the latter blushing and stuttering several times in a nervous matter. Iji noticed that she continually referred to her great (who know how many more greats later…) grandfather as "Milord" rather than his actual name, much to the Emperor's chagrin.

"Calm yourself, Lucina. I am merely another person, just as you are, however famed I may be in your time."

The woman once again stuttered out, "But you are a hero! The Hero- _King_ , in fact!"

Marth sighed, conceding the argument to her for the time being. "Very well. Call me what you wish. Just know that I would prefer "Marth" over "Milord", Lucina." He walked to the table with his breakfast, Iji joining him a moment later with her own.

"Having a hard time getting formal with your great-great-great-great… well, _many greats_ grand-daughter, eh?"

Marth nodded in agreement, saying to Iji once he was done with gulping down a bit of his milk, "Indeed. I certainly appreciate her respect for me, but it gets a little… how to say it… _overwhelming_ at times. I merely wish that she would merely call me by name rather than title, even _if_ it's the "proper" way to refer to me…"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. You know, everyone that's alive and isn't my brother calls me the "Human Anomaly", and I got tired of it pretty quickly, too."

"And why's that, Iji?" inquired the wielder of Ragnell as he came over, sitting down next to Marth.

"Oh, hey, Ike. All of the people - or, rather, all of the _aliens_ \- I met all called me that because of the fact that I had a Nanofield - the thing that makes me so strong, besides me just being fit – whereas all of the other humans they, ah… _met_ , didn't." Iji's brows rose up, as if having an epiphany. "It also may be because I never told any of them my name… _Huh_. Never really realized that before." Ike shrugged, and Marth nodded, the both of them appearing satisfied.

Ike spoke up after gulping down his breakfast (' _Who eats_ meat _for_ breakfast?' thought Iji): "I've had a few nicknames, myself. "The Hero of the Mad King's War," for one." The muscled man shrugged. "I mean, I admit that I did a lot. Slay Ashnard, the man who caused that war in the first place, for example. I couldn't have even come close to him if it weren't for my friends, though. I probably would've been killed off early on if it weren't for them, in fact." Iji smiled, appreciative of his humbleness and acknowledgement of his friends.

Iji joked, "What, did you lead your entire army, too?" Ike scratched at his hair.

"Actually, yes. I was one of the Crimean Army's few generals. How'd you guess?"

If this were a cartoon or some such, a massive drop of sweat would be seen flowing from Iji's hair. "… I was joking. Didn't think that you actually were a leader of your time."

Ike let out a small "Hmm", and spoke, after the last bit of food on his plate was consumed, "Well, I think that I'm going to train for a bit. I've got a Classic run in a few hours. Feel free to watch me, if you want." Marth and Iji waved as he left the room, the former wishing him luck in his endeavor.

"So then, Iji, what have you to do today?" Marth asked.

"Well… Now that I think about it, I don't really have anything to do, at least as far as Master Hand as hold me. Are there any things to do here that don't involve me fighting others?" Marth cupped his (notably pointy) chin in a hand, seemingly thinking.

"Have you seen the road leading from the door?" A nod from the slightly younger woman. "That path leads to Smashville. Master Hand had the place built in between the second and third Smash meetings, as, at the time, there wasn't a whole lot to do just inside of the manor. So, he had Smashville built, with the thought of recreational activities in mind. You can find many things to do there: there's a couple of cafés to relax in, a few sports centers, and even a multitude of fishing ponds to use. I must warn you, however, that there are some rather strange fish to be found in them…" Iji nodded, getting up from the chair and discarding the remaining food. "So, how long of a walk is it? Ten, twenty minutes?"

"Somewhere in between those two times, yes. If you jog the entirety of it, you can get there in only a few minutes."

Iji nodded again, thanking Marth for the information as she exited the dining room. Marth got up a couple of minutes later when he was done, and, seeing as how he, too, was left with little to do today, decided to follow after Iji.

"Iji? Would you mind slowing down for a moment? I have little to do this day, as well," he announced as he caught up to Iji. She looked over her shoulder at his approaching person, and did as he requested. When he caught up a few moments later, Marth said, "What are you planning to do whilst you are in Smashville?" the emperor inquired.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably going to be there for a few hours, so probably a little bit of everything." Marth nodded his head.

Not five minutes later, and the two humans arrived at their destination. Iji glanced over the entirety of the area, taking in all of the things present, before deciding to head over to do one of her personal favorite activities: basketball. Iji smiled as she picked up a ball, experimentally tossing it up and down in a single hand before leaping up and throwing it in the hoop. It went in without touching the rim. ' _Feels weird, having a basketball on my hands for the first time_ _in over half a year_. _Still_ , _though_ \- _f_ _eels good to be playing my favorite sport again_!' Marth, meanwhile, had sat himself down on a bench, calmly observing her activities. After a few minutes of this, he pulled out a small, yet thick tome from an unseen pocket on his pants. Iji ignored him for the moment, too busy reveling in nostalgia to care about his apparent indifference. Another few minutes later, and a group of children walked over. One of them Iji recognized as Toon Link, though he appeared to be wearing some slightly more casual clothes than his normal, mostly green outfit. Instead, he was garbed in a long-sleeved, blue shirt with a crab-like insignia in its front. His pants were a bright shade of orange, and his sword, as well as its corresponding sheath, were not with him at the moment. The one closest to him was a boy with a red hat and a shirt that was striped blue and yellow. The third person – or, rather, dinosaur-like being - was wearing blue and white scarf around his neck. The front of it had a snarling mouth - though, with the childish way it was drawn, it appeared significantly more goofy than menacing.

"Hey, lady! This's _our_ court! Step off it!" the dinosaur/turtle/dragon-esque young un' said, stepping forward on his rather stubby legs.

"Yeah? So what if it's yours or not? Doesn't mean I can't use it!" she retorted, idly dribbling the ball. Marth had lowered his book, glancing over at the group in interest. The two glared at each other; one could practically see the sparks flying between them.

"Alright, then, lady. Here's the deal. We verse you three-on-one in a basketball game, and it's gonna' be three-on-one 'cause you're _way_ taller _and_ older than us. We win, and you leave. You win, we leave, and the court is yours." His two co-horts looked a tad reluctant, but they agreed after a couple of seconds of thought. Iji nodded, and corrected the child, "Also, I'm not a lady; I'm Iji, and I'm only twenty!"

All things considering, the match should have leaned heavily in Iji's favor, what with her significant height, jump, and even speed advantages, but her three opponents' surprising amount of co-ordination kept her on her toes - defensively _and_ offensively - for a great chunk of the match. It was a very close game, but Iji ended up as the victor, winning by the narrow margin of two points. The two human (however cartoony they were; the woman was still fairly certain that they were human) kids seemed just fine with the turn-out of the match, but their companion? _Not so much_.

A few sniffles, and the Koopaling was practically bawling his eyes out, whining furiously.

Iji internally cursed, and mumbled, "Oh, for the love of…!" She sighed, and, settling on being the bigger man – or, rather, woman – and crouched in front of the Koopa child. "Okay, _fine_. You can keep the basketball court."

He removed his fists from their positions in front of his eyes, and mumbled, "R-Really?"

" _Yes_. You've got to let other people use this place, though. It's not _yours_ ; it's really Master Hand's." Another couple of sniffles.

"Okay… I guess…" He began to walk off, though Iji stopped him with a question.

"What's your name, little guy? And you two?" The child looked quite indignant at being called little.

"I'm not _little_! I'm Bowser Junior, song of Bowser, the awesome King of the Koopas, the biggest guy here, and the best dad _ever_! Those two are Ness and Toon Link!" They waved. "They don't really talk a whole lot," the Koopa prince elaborated.

"Well, you can run along. This place has plenty of other places to do stuff in!" The three children nodded their heads enthusiastically, and did just that. Marth strolled over after the trio of children had left.

"Very nicely done with handling those children, Iji. Doubtless you would make a good mother, if you become one." Iji blushed a bit at his praise.

"I guess? I mean, with the way my world is now, I'm not really certain if I'd be comfortable with that…"

"… Would you care to tell me of your world now?" he asked, sounding as polite as possible.

She sighed before speaking, "I suppose… How about I talk while we fish?"

Indeed, there was a nicely sized pond just a few minutes' worth of walking away. The two adults went over and sat down, grabbing their respective fishing poles from a nearby rack (it was bolted to the concrete, which was somewhat pointless, seeing as how people would probably steal the poles and not the rack itself) and sat down against a tree. Iji began her tale like in her meeting with Ganondorf, and ended it in the same fashion.

Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Path of_ _Radiance_ soundtrack - _Dreaming of_ _Home_

"Hmm… Most interesting, your tale. Though, I've a couple of questions."

"Go ahead."

"This strange man… Did he give his name at all?"

"I'm pretty sure that he didn't, no… I _was_ pretty exhausted, though. The combination of fighting through two separate armies and not sleeping for two days tends to do that to you, though. Heh."

He chuckled for a second, himself. "I ask this because I believe that I encountered this man, as well. He showed up a few times in my quests, generally only giving me advice. This advice always turned out to be rather useful, not that I really grasped what any of it was supposed to mean at first. It ended up saving a few of my mens' lives, as well as a few of my enemies'.

"Something was certainly off about him, as well… But I cannot figure out what."

Iji hummed for a second, curious as to who and especially _what_ this enigmatic person was supposed to be, and what his intentions were.

Only one few thing of relevance was for certain about him, however: he must be either very resourceful or very _powerful_ to have the ability to travel dimensions, if the two of them encountering him in _separate planes of existence_ was anything to go by.

"Well, I don't think that we can do anything about him right now, nor in the immediate future, so I suppose that we ought to brush him aside at the moment." Iji agreed to his assessment.

"So, what was your second question?"

Marth asked of Iji, voice equal parts solemn and serious, "Have you yet to take another man's life?"

Iji sighed depressingly. "No, I haven't. Doesn't mean that I haven't seen other people die, though. And trust me when I say that I have seen a _lot_ of people die." A second sigh from the green-eyed woman.

"You ought to be grateful that you are not a killer, then." Marth also sighed. "I have taken many a man's life, and I remorse for them each and every day. Many of them were good, kind souls, and I oft' ponder if they truly needed to die." Marth got up, retracting the line from his fishing rod. "Well, I say that we have had enough talk of morbid subjects. I've yet to have a bite of fish on my end, and you haven't, either, so–"

And, perhaps comically enough, Iji's line bobbed up and down. Iji tugged and reeled it up, being careful as not to break the line, and a few seconds of this later, she was rewarded with her… _unsightly_ catch.

It was a dank shade of brown across most of the body, with slightly darker splotches of the same color dotting its body here and there. Its fins were a pale blue, and its strange lips were an equally pale pink. Its large eyes gazed up at Iji, and it cried, in a somewhat pathetic manner, "Fee! Fee!"

" _Gah_! What in the–!?" she exclaimed, dropping the rod and the strange fish with it. Marth cupped his chin in a hand, not seeming shocked in the slightest at the appearance of Iji's catch.

He thought for a moment before speaking out, "I had no idea that Master Hand put Pokémon in the ponds. If I remember correctly, that Pokémon is a… Feebas? Something like that."

Iji was a tad creeped out by its generally ugly appearance and large eyes. It attempted to crawl forward in her direction with its fins, calling out the two syllables of its name multiple times. Iji likely would have begun backing away, but she was already against a tree, so she had no luck there.

"I think that it likes you. Just let it come up to you, and see how it reacts. Just because it's unsightly hardly means that it is aggressive or evil." The Feebas sprayed Marth in the face with a stream if water for his comment on its appearance. "Well, that was rather rude…" he spoke once he wiped away the water on his face.

It _was_ justified, though.

A few more seconds later, and it was only a foot from the woman. It halted its progress at that point, gazing up at her and finally going silent. Iji took a deep breath and calmed herself, before slowly reaching a hand out. The appendage touched the Fish Pokémon's head, and it leaned forward a bit, gladly taking in the woman's petting. Iji's mouth slowly curled upwards, and, after a solid minute of petting, she scooped it up and help it close. "I think that you're right. Just because it's ugly doesn't mean it's bad." The Feebas' mouth contorted into a frown, and it was now Iji's turn to get blasted in the face with water. She didn't really mind the slight, however, and merely giggled after getting over the shock of the sudden temperature drop. Marth joined in a second later, as did the Feebas, and, after a few more seconds, Iji said, looking it dead in the eyes: "I think that I want to keep you."

Marth said in turn, "You will have to ask Master Hand for permission. Seeing as how that it's just a Feebas, I am willing to bargain that he'll let you keep it."

A quick glance at the large clock tower on Marth's part revealed that it was now around two o'clock. "Hmm. Ike's run of Classic Mode shall start in around thirty minutes… I am going to observe him. Do you wish to join me?"

"Oh, I don't see why not. I've got a few things to ask Master Hand, too, aside from asking to keep this Feebas." The two headed off shortly after those words were spoken, the Feebas grinning at its new owner the entire way there…


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Pets 'n' Friends

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Shout-outs to Feesh for the Review! And to a person who has yet to lay eyes on some of the more unsightly Pokémon, especially a woman (not so sound sexist), I would imagine that they would be a tad frightened. Thanks for saying that you listen to the provided music, by the way. I was beginning to get worried that no one actually listened to the provided soundtracks…

More importantly, however, is the death of Satoru Iwata. I've only two things to say on the matter:

Thank you for the near-boundless hours of entertainment, and for helping make my childhood.

Rest in peace, you magnificent game designer. Rest. In. Peace…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Fifteen: Pets 'n' Friends

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Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Awakening_ soundtrack - "It appears the capital was spared the chaos."

Upon re-entering the manor-esque building, Iji asked the Emperor of Akaneia if he had anything else to do. "Why do you ask? Do you not have a certain hand to inquire to about your new Pokémon?"

"Well, we're friends, aren't we? Isn't that what friends do, even _if_ it's a bit pointless?" Marth grinned appreciatively.

"I suppose. Well, as you already know, my fellow swordsman's fight through Classic Mode ought to be starting in about twenty minutes. If you wish to join me in the viewing of that, you may want to make your conversation with Master Hand swift." Iji nodded, taking the map of the building out of one of her pockets and tracking down the location of Master Hand's office on it, heading off to the room after doing so. Marth waved her farewell before going to the kitchen, intent on grabbing something to eat before his friend's ordeal began.

Iji knocked twice on the grandiose doors to Master Hand's room, and his voice echoed out, "Come in." The woman opened the door and walked in, with the gargantuan hand speaking, "What is it that you wish to discuss with me, Iji?" He turned around and spotted the Pokémon that Iji was holding. "A Feebas…? You must've been quite lucky, then! I only put five of those in that one specific pond, and it was quite large the last time that I checked, as well!" Said Feebas let out a cry at his comment.

Iji scratched at her hair. "Thanks, I guess. I haven't come here just to show off, though. I think that I want to keep this Feebas." The disembodied appendage struck a chin-cupping pose.

"Well… I hardly see the problem with this arrangement. Do be aware that the money you'll be spending obtaining the food required for that Pokémon will come from your winnings here in Smash Brothers, however." The Human Anomaly shrugged.

"That's fine with me. As far as I'm concerned, these gold coins are actually pretty fun and easy to get." The hand thumbed himself up.

"Very well. Have you thought of anywhere that this Feebas can stay, then?" Both of Iji's brows rose from this inquiry.

"Actually, I haven't. Would the pond I got it from be fine, at least for now?"

"I suppose. It would be more convenient if there were some place to put it in this building, though…" He pointed a single finger skyward; one could practically see the exclamation mark fly out of him. "I've an idea. Your room is still in the very early stages of construction, so I propose this: in exchange for three-thousand coins, I shall construct a small aquarium in your room."

"Three- _thousand_!?" exclaimed the green-eyed woman. ' _I_ ' _ve barely even made a third of that with a Smash Run_ and _a Classic run on Intensity Five_!'

"Do you agree with this proposition, Iji?"

She thought about this for a few moments, and then answered, "Well, I suppose. You said that my room is still in the early stages of creation? How much time do I have left to get the money that I need, then?"

"Hmm… Well, the constructors of the room have last estimated that your room shall be done five days from now… So, for the sake of their convenience, I shall be drawing the deadline at four days from today."

"Four days? I think I can work with that, yeah. That's - what - a Classic run a day? I can spend an hour or so doing that."

"Excellent. Do you have anything else you wish to discuss with me?" A shake of the head. "You may leave, then." She did just that.

After quickly grabbing a bite to eat from the kitchen (just as Marth did not five minutes earlier), Iji fast-walked her way to the teleporter/spectation room, sitting down next to blue-haired Emperor once he waved her over. "Ike's trial will begin in but a few short minutes. You made your conversation with Master Hand quick, it would seem." Iji let out a small grunt of affirmation.

"So, Marth, what do you think Ike'll set the difficulty to?"

"Well, he has yet to actually do a Classic run in this meeting of Smash, so I've no idea. I'd wager that it would be fairly high, however. He has great confidence in himself, you see, and I assure that that aspect of him is _very_ well-founded."

Iji hummed in interest. The door to the room creaked open, and, quite unexpectedly, _Mewtwo_ , of all people, floated in. ' _Well_ , that's _quite_ _a surprise_ ,' both of the humans thought. The Pokémon looked around for a multitude of seconds, in what appeared to be… _awkwardness_? Iji, noticing this, told Mewtwo: "Hey, Mewtwo! Come on over!"

Mewtwo glanced over at her direction, contemplating whether to take the woman up on her kindly offer, before shaking his head. He headed over to the two humans regardless of that contradictory action, sitting down two seats away from Iji. " _Before you ask_ , _I am here only because Master Hand suggested it_. _And by_ " _suggested_ ", _I do_ , _of course_ , _mean ordered_." He growled a bit in aggravation.

Iji reached a hand out for his shoulder, likely to re-assure him that this was hardly a bad event to watch, but was stopped by the purple-on-white Pokémon psychic abilities. " _Do_ not _touch me_ , human," he mentally spoke, giving the arm that was stretching for him a rough shove. Iji rubbed at said arm, feeling a bit of pain from the force of the shove. "Geez! You don't need to _shove me_ just 'cause I tried to give you a pat on the shoulder!" Mewtwo merely let out a humph of irritation.

"Must you always be so hostile towards us humans, Mewtwo?" Marth spoke up, frowning slightly. Mewtwo shook his head for the second time.

"… _You_ ' _ve no idea what your kind has done to me_. _Regardless of whether you were involved or not in that series of dirty deeds_ , _it has given me ample reason to not trust your species_ ," he explained, surprisingly solemn.

Marth voiced both his and Iji's thoughts: "… Do you wish to talk about it any further?"

" _No_ , _I do not_." The conversation ended there, and just a few seconds later, a large hologram-like screen came to life, the screen showing an image that Iji recognized as a representation of the Intensity selection. As Marth had predicted, Ike did indeed chose a fairly high difficulty for himself, that being Intensity Six.

All things told, Ike had a fairly smooth ride in his first Six Stages, not losing even a single of his Stocks until his fight with Master Hand and Crazy Hand. He had a surprisingly close call in his battle with them in comparison to the previous battles with the AIs, going upwards of 100% in terms of damage on his second life before emerging victorious. ' _The first six battles don_ ' _t really seem to scale up that much with the actual Intensity_ , _but it looks like Master Hand and his brother more than make up for those fights in terms of difficulty_.'

That, or he was just really, _really_ good at fighting normal opponents. He likely had such large muscles for a reason.

Ike won a fairly large clump of golden coins, two Trophies, and a whole bunch of customization options for his "statistics", so to speak, for his troubles. Marth walked down to greet his friend as he teleported back into the room, giving him praising words and a pat on the shoulder. He responded with a few thanks before leaving for Smashville, with Marth saying to Iji: "Ike and I are going to Smashville. Do you want to come along, or not?" Iji nodded, seeing as how it was still a good hour before the general time for dinner came along.

"Wanna' come with us, Mewtwo?" Iji inquired. Mewtwo thought for several moments, before remembering that not taking the opportunity to make friends would probably earn him a scolding from Master Hand. He hardly desired either of those results, though one was most certainly better than the other. He didn't like being treated like an anti-social _child_ , after all.

" _Fine_. _If only to avoid a berating from Master Hand_ …" he begrudgingly accepted. The three non-Pokémon gave him a strange look at that second sentence, but mutually brushed it aside as they exited the room, doing the same with the building of the Smashers approximately a minute later.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Maddening Fun

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Apologies for the somewhat long delay; I was on vacation in Florida, and I don't really think I want to go back there again. It's more than a little hot for my tastes (and comfort)…

Rest assured that the chapters of this story will now be flowed out at a semi-regular pace; four to five days ought to be a good estimation for how long it'll take for the next chapter to arrive.

Besides that, though, I was working on my other fan fiction: _Of Children_ , _Men_ , _and Monsters_. It's a Pokémon fan story following a girl's misadventures with her dimensionally displaced Larvitar; feel free to click on my Profile link and check it out if you want!

And, lastly: Whoo! Forty- _thousand_ words! Next up is the fifty-thousand word milestone, and then beyond even that!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Sixteen: Maddening Fun

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When Iji and company arrived in Smashville, the woman figured that her new Feebas would be likely to get uncomfortable in prolonged, non-aquatic environs, so she settled on putting it back in the pond that she had found it in. At its sad expression (' _Its face is so_ expressive!' she then realized), she said to it: "Don't worry; I'll be back when were done, which'll probably be in a few hours. Hang tight 'till then!" The Fish Pokémon was none too relieved by this re-assurance, though still looked rather saddened by her departure.

The group looked around for a minute or so, attempting to find something that they would all enjoy, until Ike came up with an idea. "Want to go bowling, guys?" he inquired, gazing toward the building that hosted the games of said sport. The other two humans nodded enthusiastically. The Pokémon merely let out a mental grunt of indifference. The undeniably odd quadruplet headed over and opened the front door, walking inside not a moment later.

An inconspicuous, yet notably muscled man with a head of dark brown hair sat behind the wooden counter, inspecting the soles of some shoes, likely to make certain that they were in the fullest of form _and_ function. He glanced up from his work, and then said, "Hey. Name's Douglas. I assume that you're all here for some bowling?"

"Indeed, Douglas," Marth spoke for the group.

"You four together?" he inquired noncommittally.

"Again, indeed."

"How many games you all want to play?"

Marth glanced at the three behind him, brows raised. Iji raised a hand up, signaling for two. Ike did likewise. Mewtwo just shook his head, not willing to respond to the question.

"We'll do two, Douglas."

"Alright. That _would_ be eighty-eight of those Smash Brothers coins…" Marth flinched, ready to give an apology to his friends; however, Douglas finished: " _but_ newcomers and any other people that they bring along get to do their first game for free." The man put three pairs of shoes on the counter. The Psychic Pokémon didn't seem to particularly care that he hadn't gotten his own pair.

"Your lane is the second one from the right. Happy bowling, I guess."

"Will do," Iji said to him. Douglas didn't appear to care for the response, going back to the task at his hands as soon as they put their shoes on and made their way to the aforementioned lane.

As for the reason that they got the second lane from the right rather than the first, it was really quite simple; the first lane was already occupied. Said occupants consisted of Mario, his younger brother, Peach, and Rosalina. Luigi waved at them as they sat down in the seats of their neighboring lane. Iji reciprocated the motion with a small grin, as did Ike. The green-capped plumber frowned as Mewtwo shook his head at him disapprovingly. Why ever for, he had no idea.

A moment after that, Iji spoke somewhat quietly to the three closest to her. "Okay, first off, am I the only one who thinks that Douglas is really, _really_ rude?" Three nods from her three companions. "And second, am I the only one who's getting this inexplicable sense of dejá vú from him?" Another set of three nods. "Oh, good. I'm not going any crazier than I already am, then." Marth and Ike chuckled, albeit uncertainly. "No, seriously, I think I'm really a bit crazy. Hold on one second, let me show you something…" Iji reached a hand into her top-right pocket, digging through a veritable pile of lint and dust before finding what she was looking for.

She presented it to them on an outstretched, open hand. "Do you all see what I'm seeing?" A few moments passed, with the other three gazing at her hand curiously.

" _I do not see anything on your hand_ , _human_ , _besides the small specks of lint from your dirty pockets_."

"Which is _exactly what I'm saying_! I'm seeing a bright-pink ribbon on my hand, while you guys aren't!"

" _I believe that your ascertation of your own insanity is correct then_ , _human_." Marth decided not to bite back at Mewtwo's scathing comment, and instead opted to inquire as to why she was seeing something that they were not.

"Well, as far as I can remember, my little sister, Mia, wore one of these while we were touring the facility that I would later fight through. Mia… Well, she… she _died_ in the Alpha Strike." Marth grimaced, as did Ike, though the latter looked a bit curious at the mentioning of an Alpha Strike. Even Mewtwo appeared to be a tad saddened by her tale. "So, I think that my brain sort of came up with these hallucinations of my sister's ribbons to prevent me from _really_ going off the deep end." The grimaces turned into shocked gapes. Mewtwo refrained from that, instead raising his brows. "The funny thing here, besides my apparent craziness, is that I distinctly remember grabbing ten of these things, but now I can only seem to find one in my pockets. I know for a fact that I put all of them in these things, as well," she said, patting one of them accordingly. She then proceeded to shrug. "Who knows? Maybe my brain's finally decided that I don't need to see these things anymore. I've moved on from her death, as well as my family's, so maybe that's why?" She managed another indifferent shrug, despite the heavy tone of the conversation.

"I… I apologize for making you go so in-depth about the subject, Iji. Doubtless this is hard for you to discuss…"

"Oh, it's no problem. Like I've just said, I've moved on from those events." None of them noticed it, but a glimmer of respect entered Mewtwo's eyes.

' _It would seem that_ _she is much stronger than she lets on_ …'

"So you're sure that you're okay, then?" Ike asked, seeming to be genuinely concerned. Iji's patience began to run thin, despite their good intentions.

" _Yes_! Geez, aside from these ribbon hallucinations, I'm fine!" Ike backed off at this. The woman sighed a long, long sigh.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyways, how's about we do what we came here for and bowl?" The two swordsmen readily agreed to this, while Mewtwo (predictably enough) said nothing.

And they did just as Iji proposed for the next hour. In summary, Ike and Mewtwo did the best, and were actually very close to being tied by the end of both of the games. Ike won the first game of bowling, with Mewtwo ending up winning in the second.

No one decided to object to Mewtwo's use of his psychic powers; his three fingers, which ended in circular stubs, weren't exactly fit to go inside a bowling ball's holes, what with their comparatively large size.

The Human Anomaly and the Hero-King, meanwhile, were both close in terms of points themselves, though still being a large margin behind the two others. It was Iji who ended up emerging victorious over Marth, placing third overall, though Marth still put up a great effort.

" _Man_ , you two are good at bowling," Iji commented as they walked out of the door. "Have either of you ever done any games of bowling before?"

"Yeah, I've played a few games with Marth, as well as a few others, before."

Mewtwo just shook his head yet again, saying to them mentally, " _I have not_." A brief pause. "… _I will concede the point that that was_ … adequate _in terms of fun_ , _however_." The three humans smiled. It was progress in breaking the solitary Pokémon's shell, however small a step it may be. They looked around Smashville again, attempting to find something to occupy them, before Iji got an idea.

"So, who's up for some basketball?"


	18. Chapter Seventeen: A Peaceful Evening

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Again, apologies for the long wait. My sloth tends to catch up with me, as you may have already guessed at, and I've another story I'm working on, as you may already be aware. Again, feel free to go to my profile and check it out. That said, however, do enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Seventeen: A Peaceful Evening

* * *

The four beings of varying species played another few games of sports well into the afternoon. In the aforementioned game of basketball, the four divided into teams of two; Ike with Mewtwo on one, and Iji with Marth on the other. Like with their previous game of bowling, Ike and Mewtwo proved to be naturally great at the sport (though it could easily be said that Mewtwo's psychic abilities significantly helped in his prowess), but Iji's already great amount of skill in combination with Marth's ability to quickly learn and pick up on things ended up making the latter pair emerge victorious.

A few minutes later, and the three humans plus one Pokémon were playing baseball. The teams were split into two again, though the pairings were changed up; Marth was instead with Mewtwo rather than Iji, and, as a result, Ike was now paired up with Iji. Mewtwo's psychic prowess along with Iji's general expertise with sports trumped Ike's strength and Marth's speed and skill.

Cue music - _Iji_ soundtrack - _All That Can Wait_

The third and final thing that they did was a solid hour of simple fishing, though the body of water that they fished from was notably smaller than the one that Iji had fished from earlier. The cat-like Pokémon was the first to sit down, floating over to a bench a few feet away from the pond. He levitated an inch or two away from the actual bench surface, and then put his three-pronged hands together, with his legs crossed and eyes closed intently, likely beginning to meditate. Just when Ike opened his mouth to ask whether he was actually going to do what they were about to do, he retrieved a fishing rod from the rack a few down feet away with his psychic powers, casting the line a second later. " _I am very much capable of multi_ - _tasking_ ," he answered the unspoken question tersely. " _Just focus on your own fishing_." Iji shrugged at this, grabbing a fishing pole of her own before seating herself on the grass next to the bench. Ike and Marth followed suite, each settling down a relatively short yet comfortable distance from each other.

A few minutes into their fishing, Iji couldn't help but ask of Marth: "So, ah… Why are you always wearing that tiara? It's kinda of feminine, isn't it?" Marth sputtered, a tad indignant, both at her observation and inquiry. Ike was attempting to hold back his laughter but failed, instead settling on hiding his chuckling behind a gloved hand. A glare from the emperor quickly quelled Ike's laughter. Said emperor sighed, as if thoroughly resigned to some terrible fate.

"I can already tell that you won't back off I do not answer. Very well, then. If you must know, I looked a considerable amount like my elder sister, Elice, in my earlier years, to the point where the castle guards occasionally confused us with each other. Thusly, my sister came up with the idea to give me her tiara and have each other swap clothing. We then went about the castle, acting like the other and confounding _everyone_ , including our father and mother. By the end of the day, no one was the wiser that we had been playing them. To this day, I doubt that anyone besides my sister knows what had transpired."

Iji and Ike looked to be immensely amused by this story. Mewtwo appeared to not be paying them any mind, but if one bothered to look closely enough, they could find a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"And as for why I continue to wear the tiara, well… the day after that incident, my sister decided that she found that the tiara fit both my head and personality better than hers, at least at the time, so she insisted that I keep it." He removed it from his person, staring down at it wistfully. "Those days of peace and relaxation seem so very distant now…" The two humans nodded, their curiosity slaked by his tale.

"Speaking of personal belongings, what's the story behind both of your swords? They clearly aren't just average blades." The two swordsmen looked a bit startled by her somewhat sudden observation.

"Well, Iji, my sword, the Falchion, is in all actuality a fang from the Divine Dragon, Naga, re-forged into the likeliness of a blade." The Hero-Kind unsheathed said sword, allowing Iji to examine it close-up. It glittered in the sunlight from the sheer shininess of it. "This sword has been bestowed with the power to fell dragons easier than any other, and is still otherwise extremely sharp and durable. I would imagine that Lucina's blade is also the Falchion, as she is my descendant, though how its form has changed remains a mystery to me." Iji hummed, appearing both satisfied and mystified by his explanation of his sword.

"And yours, Ike? 'Cause I don't think that that sword is simply made of gold." Ike nodded, affirming her suspicion.

"Yeah, you're right. Ragnell is a sword forged and blessed by Ashera, one of my world's goddesses, to defeat another goddess, Yune. That was just over a thousand years ago in Tellius, my homeland. Yune was sealed in a medallion because of the efforts of three Laguz – they're basically people who can shift between human and animal form, by the way – as well as a human woman named Altina, who wielded Ragnell and another blesses sword, Alondite, at the same time."

"Woah, wait a second," Iji interrupted, seeming incredulous. "Not to sound sexist or anything, but a _girl_ used _two swords of that size_ simultaneously?" Indeed, the primarily golden weapon reached all the way up to Iji's neck from the bottom of the hilt to the tip of the blade.

"That's what I thought when I saw Ragnell, too! Even _I_ had a tough time first using it nearly four years back, and this woman used it in combination with a more or less similar sword a _thousand years_ back!"

The discussion of varying subjects continued on for the next two hours, with said subjects of discussion ranging from weaponry of Ike and Marth's worlds compared to Iji's to the foods of the differing time periods and worlds. When the time to return (A.K.A. the time to chow down on dinner) arrived, the four departed from Smashville.

Not before Iji retrieved her Feebas, however. It swam up to the surface of the pond and gave a happy cry at the fact that the woman had not forgotten about it, and grinned the entire way back to the mansion-esque building.

* * *

A filling dinner and a Classic run on Intensity 4.5 later, and gun-wielding woman was heading back to Smashville to return the Feebas to its ponds once again. "I'll be back next morning, alright?" The Fish Pokémon shook its body up and down in an understanding nod, as, being a fish, it wasn't really capable of just nodding its head.

Iji then thought about what to do next. She had another hour or two before it became a good time for her to sleep, so she settled on doing something she had not done for the past seven-ish months: _read_.

' _Where to_ find _something to read_ , _though_ … _That is the question_.' She fetched her map from her pocket and stole a quick glance at it, eventually finding a "reading center" on the second floor. She headed up a nearby stairwell and entered the room marked on her map.

' _Wow_. _This just_ might _be the largest library I_ ' _ve ever seen_ ,' she silently marveled, a bit awed by the sheer number of shelves and the books therein. A few people were seated at the tables, notably Ganondorf and Lucina. She waved at them both as she passed them by; Lucina waved back with a grin, though the gesture went ignored by the King of Evil. Iji noticed that they were both reading up on battle techniques for sword-based combat, though why Ganondorf was reading about swords escaped Iji at the moment. ' _I haven_ ' _t seen him actually_ use _a sword_ , _though I_ did _spot a sheath for one in his room_ …'

The library's collection of literature was so vast; Iji had no idea where to start as a result. It took her almost twenty minutes to finally pick out a single book; it was titled "Robotics for Smarties", and was likely from Mega Man's world, as it was the most detailed book on robotics and AI that Iji could immediately find. She took it over to the counter, but no one appeared to be present behind it. At least, until a small, cartoony man with odd clothing and a mushroom cap-like hat (Iji _thought_ it was a hat, at least) clambered over, a foot stool raising his height to the needed level to actually look over the counter.

"Hello! You're here to check out that book, I assume?" he cheerfully asked. His voice was also fairly odd; it was as if he had a permanent sore throat or some such.

"Yeah. Here you go," she responded, successfully attempting to keep her voice even at his strangeness. A few seconds later, and the book was now temporarily hers.

"That book'll be due in two weeks, at least until you bring it back and re-check it; in which case, that time can be extended by another week. Happy reading!" the person cheerfully finished, hopping off of the stool and vanishing from Iji's immediate sight.

' _Just goes to show that people can be nice_ , _however weird they may be in appearance_ ,' she thought, a small smile now present upon her features.

She sat in a chair next to the desk adjacent to Ganondorf's and read for the next hour and a half, finding the book's contents to be oddly fascinating. ' _Maybe I_ ' _m a nerd and I just haven_ ' _t realized it yet_?" she pondered as she got up and left the library, heading over to her room to read a bit more before going to bed. Those chairs got to be a bit uncomfortable after a while, after all, even with the cushions on their respective bottoms.

Iji took her black shoes and gray socks off as she prepared herself for bed, wondering why Mewtwo wasn't in the room before her as he always was. She shrugged the thought off as she settled under the blankets and resumed her reading, doing so for the next twenty minutes before the feeling of sleepiness began to creep up on her. She yawned loudly as she set the book on the nightstand, turning over to rest on her side as she closed her eyes, falling unconscious and into a dreamless sleep a few short minutes later...

* * *

An enigmatic, arch-like work of stone rested in the woods, approximately a mile and a half away from the buildings of the Smashers. No one except the masters and founders of the Super Smash Brothers organization were aware of its existence, and even they were not certain of its purpose.

The arch suddenly sparked to life, the space underneath the arch glowing a brilliant mixture of cyan and purple before ceasing a moment later.

A man now stood there. His long, scruffy blue hair flowed gently in the breeze, as did his tattered red cape and dark green bandana. A massive sheath containing a familiar golden blade rested upon his back, held there by a strap in his segmented blue-on-white armor. After a minute of silence and looking around on his part, he spoke:

"So, this is the next Outrealm for me, huh? Better start looking around for civilization, then…" He departed from his spot underneath the arch as he finished that sentence, seeking new challenges to overcome…


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Those of Radiance

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Oh, another long delay, another obligatory apology!

Seriously, though, school is starting, as is my hunt for a part time job, so do forgive me if the pacing of the updates slows down even more.

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Eighteen: Those of Radiance

* * *

When Iji woke up the next morning, she was once again a bit startled to find that Mewtwo was _still_ absent from the room. ' _Either he didn_ ' _t come back_ at all _last night_ , _of he_ did _while I was asleep_. _Doesn_ ' _t really matter_ , _anyway_ , _but that_ does _raise the question of_ where _Mewtwo went off to_ , _and just_ what _Mewtwo was doing_ …'

Unlike her previous days in the realm of the Smash Brothers, Iji roused herself quickly, putting her boot-like shoes on in a timely manner and doing her now normal morning routine in the rest room in an equally speedy fashion. After that was done with, the Human Anomaly meandered over to the kitchen, intent on making herself a breakfast consisting of cereal and orange juice.

After the assemblage of her meal was complete, she seated herself at a chair next to the expansive table, meeting a few new people as she consumed food and drink. Said people included a blatantly disgusting fat man that bore a resemblance to Mario, a dragon-like lizard with a tail-tip that appeared to be permanently lit aflame (it glowered at her when she gave it a concerned glance), a bipedal, primarily blue hedgehog with a generally cartoony appearance ("S'up?" he said at her stare), and even an undeniably adorable pink puffball (it puffed up its cheeks in indignation at her expression of awe). She had another encounter with the Heir of the Monado, as well, with Shulk initiating the conversation with a small stutter:

"So, ah… Iji, was it? Would it be alright if I took a quick look at your weapon? I find that it intrigues me to no end. I'm a weapons researcher and developer, you see, however young I may be, and out of every tool I've seen so far, yours is certainly the most complex."

Iji was uncertain of his request. "Could you give me a minute to think? I've got a few things planned to day, and most of them are going to involve this thing's use, so–"

The sounds of explosions and falling trees rang out all of a sudden, their volume aided by the general silence of the morning.

"Huh!? What's going on out there!?" Iji promptly exclaimed, a bit shocked from the sudden noise, which began again with another few falling trees.

"Well, only one way to find out," the "Monado Boy" responded, thankful that he had his bright-red blade on him nearly all the time. The two sprinted out of the building, along with a few others.

The hedgehog from before sped ahead of them all, saying, "I'm the fastest, so I'll scout ahead and find where that noise is coming from!" Iji felt tempted to rebuke that statement, but found herself unable; he was already gone in a blue blur, rocketing expertly in between the trees.

"I may not be as fast as him naturally, but with the aid of the Monado, I can become such! Monado… _Speed_!" he cried, his sword as well as his person now enveloped in a green aura. The blond sprinted off, following the blue trail of light that the super-fast hedgehog (somehow) left behind. Iji was flabbergasted, but got over it relatively quickly. She had seen far stranger than an apparently magical sword thus far, after all.

The nine-strong group slowed down as the two left their sights, and Iji finally bothered to look at who was actually with her. ' _No_ , _wait_ , _make that ten_ - _strong_.' The balloon-like Pokémon was just entering the clearing that they were situated in, panting a bit from the exertion once it came to a stop. Iji laughed a bit at the Pokémon's expense before glancing around. She immediately recognized Ike, who acknowledged her with a nod, as well as the people in the dining room from earlier, with the exception of the fat man. ' _He_ ' _s probably still stuffing himself back in the building_ ,' Iji realized, a bit thankful that he hadn't come with them. ' _Which is good_ , _considering that he farts every five or so minutes_.'

Not two minutes later, the Blue Blur's voice sounded from the northeast. "We're over here! Come on!" They got up and resumed their respective runs, reaching Shulk and Sonic a short while later.

They were all greeted with a somewhat odd sight; Mewtwo and a man bearing an _extremely_ striking resemblance to Ike were evidently duking it out, a large number of trees on the rim of the clearing leveled to the ground. Mewtwo appeared to be only slightly winded, whilst the Ike look-alike was panting a bit heavily, leaning on his sword for support.

Said sword looked almost exactly like Ragnell.

Ike noticed this almost immediately, eyes widening slightly, as did Iji and a few others. "Hey, Ike, isn't that your sword…?" the woman inquired.

"Looks to be it, yeah," he said quietly, as to not interrupt the apparent end of the fight.

" _You are exhausted_ , human, _and your swordsmanship has proven to be of little trouble to me_. _You had best give this farce up_ , _especially since almost a dozen of my_ …associates _have arrived_. _I do not believe that you wish to be humiliated in front of so many people_ , _so throw down your sword and surrender peacefully to spare yourself the embarrassment_."

The blue-haired man chuckled for a moment. "You know… with the way you word it, you make it sound as if it's a bad thing to go out the warrior's way. More honorable than surrendering, at least, though I guess I don't really have a choice in the matter… I know when I've met my match, anyways…" He let go of his sword, leaving it sheathed in the ground deep enough to the point where it remained up-right. The man took a deep, calming breath, soothing his nerves and mind, before, surprisingly enough, _bowing_.

"The fight was a good one, and I thusly thank you for it, even if I ended up losing." Mewtwo's eyes widened, as well, but he recovered from his shock swiftly. He merely let out a mental grunt and began to float back towards the building.

The blue-haired man glanced around, smiling widely, retrieving his as he did so. "Sorry I hadn't paid any of you any attention when you all arrived. You must _never_ take your eyes off of your opponent, especially a teleporting one like him." When his gaze finally settled on Ike, he gasped, a small frown coming onto his features. He paced over to him, the speed of it coming close to a run, stopping barely a foot away from. Ike backed away from him a bit, and the other man didn't approach any farther. The look he was giving the Radiant Hero was so intense, it may as well've been a glare.

Now that the two were next to each other, Iji couldn't help but notice that they were of equal heights, too. Heck, they even had matching bandanas, capes, and hair colors...

"… Hello?" Ike warily let out, feeling put-off by his scrutiny.

The man didn't respond until several more seconds had passed, until he finally grinned, saying, "Looks like you're the real deal." He stretched out an armored limb. "Name's Priam. You're Ike, I presume?"

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"I'll probably tell you soon enough. Anyway, I need some rest and also probably a bit healing after that fight." Indeed, he had several bruises on what little visible skin he showed, and his armor was dirtied and dented in multiple places. "Mind escorting me over to that building?"

Iji spoke up. "Sure, Priam. Come on." The somewhat large group left the clearing, heading out of the forest and returning to the manor-esque building.

Several more minutes passed, during which Ike got curious, and understandably so. "So, Priam… I noticed that your sword looks a _lot_ like Ike's. Mind elaborating?"

Priam, for his part, didn't really appear to mind the question. "Ah, yes. Ragnell. You could say that it's a family heirloom." He held it up for everyone to see. "It's a bit dinged up, if you'll look closely enough. Age does that to pretty much everything, though, including blessed blades." Ike's gaze grew a bit suspicious of Priam.

"And how do you have Ragnell when I know for a fact that my _own_ Ragnell is back at the building?" The mercenary's eyes lit up, widening in the process, as if he were coming to an incredibly startling epiphany.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know a woman named Lucina, would you? Long, blue hair, wields a particular sword?"

Priam gasped mentally. ' _How_ …?' He imperceptibly shook his head. "You don't need to spell it out for me; yes, I do. Why is it that you ask?"

"Well, she happens to be here, in the Smash realm, as does her descendant, Marth. They both wield the Falchion, however different the blade looks, and they both looks a lot alike, which got me thinking… Since we both look so similar, and we both wield Ragnell, can it be the same situation here?"

Priam mentally sighed. ' _And_ _h_ _ere comes the million Gold question_ …'

"Tell me, Priam. Are you a descendant of mine, like Lucina is to Marth?"


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Another Meeting

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

School has started, and let me tell you, having even a single college course in high school tends to make your life about thirty percent busier than it was before. I shall still be updating, however slowly it may be, so no need to fret!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Nineteen: Another Meeting

* * *

Cue music - _Fire Emblem_ : _Awakening_ soundtrack - _Champion_

"… Heh. A bright one, aren't you, Ike? Why, yes, I am to you as Lucina is to Marth; your gods-knows-how-many grands descendant." Ike didn't appear to be particularly shocked by this revelation.

"That's what I thought. What's with your get-up, though? I mean, you've got my cape, bandana, sword, and even my hair color, even if that last one is really just up to chance."

Priam's cheeks lit up in a rosy shade of red as he explained: "Well, you see, uh… You could say that I'm a fan of yours? I look up to you a lot, you know, so I figured that I'd just… take up your clothe?" The descendant of Ike scratched at the back of his head abashedly. "Now that the issue is brought up, especially in front of _you_ , I suppose that it's a bit creepy, isn't it?"

"Definitely," confirmed the Radiant Hero, though he shrugged in a slightly contradictory manner. The group continued to walk, with everyone except the Balloon Pokémon altering their gazes between Priam and his ancestor, very clearly taking note of their rather starling similarities. "Anyways, that doesn't answer a fairly important question: why are you here to begin with, Priam?"

The other hero grinned. "I'm glad you asked! The reason I'm here – and in most places, really – is to become stronger. So strong that I'll become _the_ strongest, in fact. I don't really care who gets in my path to that goal – the only way they're getting out of said way is by their moving aside willingly, or from my shoving their battered boy aside!" The blue-haired man calmed down when he noticed that everyone was becoming unnerved by his… _enthusiasm_ for battle. "Ah, apologies. I tend to get rather passionate when it comes to my strength, in case you hadn't just now noticed." Priam gave Ike a glance. "Speaking of strength, I've always wondered this: what drove you to become so strong in the first place, Ike? Was it like me, with my need to become stronger than everyone else, or was it something else?"

"… We're a bit more dissimilar than we appear, Priam, because, as first, I only really wanted to grow stronger to avenge my father, Greil. But then nearly all of Tellius got involved in the Mad King's War, and I then needed to grow stronger to protect my friends as well as those that weren't involved in the war."

"… Huh. Those are actually some very profound – as well as some damn fine – reasons. Probably better motivations than my own, actually."

They were nearly to the buildings' doors when said doors burst open, Master Hand flying out hurriedly. He floated to the ground, as if to emphasis that he was looking at them rather than, say the oddly shaped cloud in the distance. "I heard explosions, but I was too drowsy to get up and investigate immediately! Smashers, what has transpired in my absence!?"

Most of the group furrowed their brows in confusion at the appendage's odd reasoning, but Iji answered, "Well, Mewtwo and this new guy, Priam," she gestured over to him, "were apparently fighting. Why for, I have no idea."

Master Hand pointed at the man as Iji finished her statement. He backed off, clearly wary of the hand and what he could do. " _You_! Why were you doing combat with one of _my_ Smashers without my consent!?" A second of silence, then: "… And _why_ do you look so much like Ike? Why – and especially _how_ – are you even here to begin with?"

Priam backed away another couple of steps. "… Well, first off, who are _you_? Isn't it supposed to be polite to introduce yourself?" The hand backed off, himself, reluctantly stating, "… I am Master Hand, and Iji has already told me your name. Now if you would be so kind as to answer my questions to that I could initiate my day in earnest…?"

"Well, to answer your three "whys" and your "who", I came here through the Outrealm Gate back in the forest, and my motivation to come here was – and still _is_ – to become stronger. The first one I met was Mewtwo; he was evidently out on a midnight stroll or something when he came along me. We talked for a couple of hours; he's actually a pretty interesting guy to talk to if you can find out his interests..."

The Smashers leaned in, curious about what kinds of things piqued the stoic Pokémon's interest, though Priam grinned knowingly at their new-found attention. Master Hand, meanwhile, was satisfied to know what that weird archway in the woods finally was ' _A portal between worlds_ , _it would seem_.'

"… Which I did, though judging by his personality, I don't think that he'd like such details to be made public without his consent. That aside, though, when we both grew bored of conversing, I challenged him to a duel. He declined at first, but I found that persuading a person into fighting can be made rather easy if you make the first move.

"For those wondering, said first move was me chucking Ragnell at him." A couple of the Smashers gasped at this. "Oh, _relax_. I could tell that his reflexes were fast enough to either catch or dodge it, and he did indeed do the latter. We fought for almost an hour, but his psychic powers gave him the upper hand, and I thusly ended up losing." A small grimace was on his face as he said that. "That was a bit of a wound to my pride, but even someone so obsessed with being stronger than others such as I had to concede defeat in the face of Mewtwo's psychic prowess. After that, I met these people, and they were kind enough to offer to escort me here, as I am injured a bit from my battle with him.

"And here I am now, with these guys, talking to you. And speaking of treating my injuries, do you guys have an actual medic here? Because, as I've practically just said, I've got a few wounds that need treating."

Master Hand re-positioned himself into that thinking position again. If Priam was curious as to how the disembodied body part functioned, he did an excellent job of not showing it. "Very well… However, as you are not a member of our organization, the Super Smash Brothers, you shall be requested – and forced, if need to – in the next few days. You still did not answer why you looked like Ike, though."

"Ah, yes. Seeing as how Ike knows of Lucina, I presume that she is here, in this realm?"

"Indeed she is." The hand suddenly pointed skyward, as if attempting to imitate the shape of an exclamation mark. "Wait… Marth is the ancestor of Lucina, and she looks rather similar to him despite being so far ahead in time. Is this the same situation, except you are the descendant and Ike is the progenitor?"

Another grin crept its way on to Priam's features as he responded, "Nailed it! You're rather bright for just being a hand, you know that?"

"… Was that a compliment, or–?"

"Take it as you will."

"Right. Anyways, you said you had a medic. Where is he or she?"

"Well, if you'll just follow me… Oh, and thank you, my Smashers, for escorting this man to me. You may resume whatever business you were in the middle of before."

"You're welcome," a few said before everyone headed back indoors, doing just as the master of the Smash Brothers organization said they could do. For most of them, it was finishing their breakfast.

' _I hope Wario hasn_ ' _t gotten to my food while I was gone_ …' was what most of them thought as they went to the kitchen, albeit in slightly different phrasings.

Unfortunately, their hopes were for naught. ' _Oh_ , _for the love of_...!' was their collective thought as they saw the fat man chow down on what was once Iji's food, finishing it up just as the group walked in. Iji, Shulk, and Ike all sighed at the sight, and they thought, in another moment of near-perfect synchronicity: _'Good thing we already ate most of our food_...'


	21. Chapter Twenty: Potential for Insanity

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

… Yep. Just another mostly blank space up here; no need to mind these words…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty: Potential for Insanity

* * *

Cue music – _Fire Emblem_ : _Awakening_ soundtrack – _Training_

It was just over an hour later when Iji saw Priam again. The woman spotted him from a window; he was training with a wooden practice sword outside, whaling away on a training dummy. A few bandages were on his person, likely to aid him in the process of his healing. The green-eyed human figured that she may as well go and see how he's doing, as she still had another hour and a half before her scheduled run of Classic.

Closing the door behind her, she paced over to the descendant of Ike, and asked him, "Hey, Priam. You sure you should be doing stuff like this while you're hurt?"

He continued to bat away at the dummy, not even turning around to greet her as he answered, "Doc said that all of my wounds are really just superficial, and'll be gone in the next few days. A few cuts and bruises sure as Hell aren't going to stop someone like me from getting my training in…"

He gave the thing several more blows, with Iji inquiring after that, "So… What do you think of this place so far?"

"Well, it would seem as if this place has a great many strong people to fight, as well as having decently comfortable places to sleep, so I'm content for now…" Another dozen blows later, and the blue-haired Hero gave a great exhale, taking a small clothe from a stump nearby and wiping the sweat off of his face with it. He gave a small exhale as he picked up his large training sword again, getting ready to resume his practice.

"Say, Priam, I was wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought about how your sword is still in one piece? I mean, between your version of Ragnell and Ike's, I noticed that yours has a bunch of small cracks and holes in it. Ever thought about getting it re-forged?"

"… You raise a pretty good point, Iji. I probably would've gotten it repaired by now, though there are two problems with that…" A few additional seconds of beating on the doll passed. "I have yet to encounter a smith capable of restoring a blade such as this, and I don't really trust anyone but myself to hold on to it, either…"

A shrug from Iji. "Well, that sword is clearly something that you value, so I guess I can understand."

She just stood off to the side for the next few minutes, content with merely observing him train, until she couldn't help but ask him another question. "I can tell that you're trying to live up to Ike's legacy or something like that, so why not have a go at fighting him?"

Priam perked up noticeably at this. "I've thought about that since the moment I first saw him, yes. It's just that I want to fight him at my best; these small injuries aren't really holding me back at all, but they _are_ detracting from my overall focus. Half of these things are producing these irritating itches, you see…"

The brown-haired human nodded. She had gotten hit more than her fair share of times on her not-so-little adventure, which produced many, _many_ injuries. The Nanomachines in her bloodstream thankfully healed her roughly six times faster as the average person, but that still didn't mean that she didn't need the occasional break to rest up and heal. The Human Anomaly let out a small hum of understanding at his reasoning. She stood up off from the tree stump she was previously sitting on before pacing back to the door of the relatively expansive building of the Smashers. Before she closed the door behind her, she gave the descendant of the Radiant Hero one last suggestion:

"This place gives you a lot more in terms of training than just those dummies. Come inside if you want; there's a _lot_ to do in here."

Priam gave her a nearly imperceptible nod before swiping the clothe over his face again, with Iji shutting the door as he did so. '" _Lots to do_ ", _huh_ …?'

The next thing Iji settled on doing was a few stretching exercises with the two Wii Fit Trainers.

"Glad to see you back!" they announced in their usual synchronicity. The Anomaly followed their instructions for the next half-hour, attempting to get the last few kinks out of her system from the past two days, and doing so successfully. The two unnaturally pale constructs bid her a fond farewell as she left.

Next up on her list of things to do before her Classic run was a short lunch break; said lunch came early because of the fact that Wario (she had learned his name from Ike) had ate a chunk of her already small breakfast. A few pieces of frozen chicken slaked her appetite for the next couple of hours. She then proceeded to grab the book that she had obtained last night and continue reading it, getting halfway through it before the time came for her to do her run of Classic Mode.

Iji did this run on the slightly higher Intensity of 6.5 this time; she figured that, if she wanted to finally win a match against her fellow fighters, she's got to get better with this world's rules of play and the combatants' moves.

She nearly lost both of her Stocks in several instances this time around, but she managed to get through the entirety of the challenge without losing fully. Claiming her dozen-hundred Gold, miscellaneous Trophies and equipment, she then decided to go to Master Hand and ask him about ways to make Golf outside of Classic and Smash Run. ' _There_ ' _s_ gotta' _be more than just those and the standard battles_ …'

"Things besides Classic Mode and Smash Run, huh?" rhetorically inquired the gigantic appendage. His sibling was on the floor next to his grandiose desk, somehow managing to curl up like a puppy as he slept. "Well, if you're looking for money outside of those two modes of play, we also have Crazy Orders–"

" _Ohh_! Did _someone_ mention my own little mode!?" said the potentially psychotic being, springing up from his apparent slumber swiftly and surprisingly, startling Iji quite thoroughly.

"Geez! Warn me before you do something like that, Crazy Hand!"

"But then it wouldn't be fun~!"

Master Hand sighed deeply, clearly attempting to soothe his nerves as well as his patience. "Brother, would you be so kind as to be quiet for the next minute or so?"

The other hand gave a thumb up. "Yako, Bro'!" He then created a seat for himself by merging a few of the spare chairs off to the side into one, laying himself on his side, idly watching the two. Iji raised both of her brows at his antics, before returning her attention to the right hand.

"Anyway… You were saying, Master Hand?"

"Yes, yes… Crazy Orders is a mode made by my brother just before the official invitations for this Smash meeting were sent. He did so without my consent, though I allowed the mode of play to remain because of the fact that it was a surprisingly good idea. To summarize: what essentially goes down is that you are presented with three different challenges. You pick one of these challenges and you clear it.

"It seems simple at first, but there are several other details you must also pay attention to: the number and status of your foes, whether items are enabled or not, the possibility of Team Battles, and _especially_ the overall ten minute time limit. The battles start out easily enough, with generally minor rewards, but they scale up as each turn passes. After the first battle, you get to fight against my brother. If you win, you keep all of your rewards that you acquired. You lose, against him or against any other opponent, and roughly two-thirds of the things you have obtained up to that point are lost. And if the time limit is exceeded? _All_ of your rewards are forfeited.

"As it so turns out, this mode has not yet had anyone play it. So, to speak for my brother: do you wish to play a round of Crazy Orders?"

It took a few moments of pensiveness for Iji to respond. "Oh, sure. I don't see why not!"

Crazy Hand promptly cheered, which consisted of him doing several erratic flaps on the ground, leaving a considerable amount of dents on the expensive-looking, metallic floor.

Iji and Master Hand simultaneously sighed.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One: Prelude to Madness

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Many thanks to nightelf37 for the Follow and _three_ Reviews! Though, I would appreciate criticism and critique rather than questions.

And in chronological order of said questions:

Vateilika'll be showing up eventually, yes, along with the mysterious man. I didn't just introduce the latter to raise more questions, you know.

Chances are the intended Morse "words" were scrambled in my attempting to make it display properly on the FanFiction interface: the original translation was intended to be… _well_ , if you know the trivia behind a certain pseudo-secret boss' theme, you can probably infer as to what it means.

And lastly, _no_ , it is not. It features the same OC, yes, but the story (or, at least, how it was intended to go before I cancelled it) is different from how it would've turned out.

So, do enjoy this next chapter, and apologies once again for the wait and the rather miniscule length of this one. A combination of homework, my other story, and the sin of sloth tend to do wonders on a person's will to work, you see…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-One: Prelude to Madness

* * *

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers for Wii U_ / _Nintendo 3DS_ soundtrack – _Menu_

Skipping an hour ahead from her meeting with the sibling hands, we find Iji becoming quite worried. "On second thought, I think that I just _might_ regret agreeing to doing this…" Iji murmured. "I mean, this is _Crazy Hand_ we're talking about, here! I barely know the guy, yet I can tell that he's earned his name _very thoroughly_!" Her fingers dug into her scalp as she paced around in a somewhat frantic manner. She was interrupted from her musings, however, with a powerful grip on her shoulder. Turning around, she came face-to-face with Priam, whose brows were raised in what was very clearly curiosity.

"What're you fretting about, Iji? Nothing serious, I would hope?"

Iji sighed before answering, "Well, I hope that you're right about it not being serious, but, well… knowing Crazy Hand…"

"Crazy Hand? I assume that his name is befitting of his character?"

"Oh, you have _no idea_. Anyways, the thing here is that he's made this mode for us Smashers to play, and it hasn't really been tested yet. I'll be the first one to try it out, if my worry was any indication."

"Ah. Well, you look strong enough to handle yourself. You ought to be fine, Iji, so what you really should do is simply stop worrying so much."

Iji then went silent for several seconds because of his words. "… I guess that you're right. Maybe I _should_ have a bit more self-confidence. I've been through worse that whatever that hand has made for me!" She chuckled a bit, realizing that she was probably right.

"That's the spirit! Now, to get to why I'm talking to you in the first place. You've said that there's a lot to do in this facility, so tell me: are there any places to train that don't utilize those dummies outside?"

The brown-haired woman put a hand to her chin pensively. "Well, there aren't any _real_ training rooms, nor do I think that you can go through things like Classic and Smash Run without being an official Smash Brother, though there _is_ a room for lifting weights and the like, as well as a room dedicated purely to yoga. Just as a warning, though? The two in there are a bit weird." The last sentence was muttered, as if she were wary of the two Wii Fit Trainers being right around a nearby corner or some such.

And, funnily enough, they rounded the eastern corridor just as she finished talking. They, themselves, were almost perfectly silent, foot steps aside. Their mutual silence was broken when they, in their usual synchronization, spoke to the descendent of Ike:

"Why, hello, potential Smash newcomer! How are you doing this fine evening?"

Priam glanced at Iji a tad nervously before responding, "Erm… I'm still on the fence on the whole "joining Smash" thing, and I'm just fine, thank you for asking. Who are you two?"

"We are the Wii Fit Trainers!" they announced enthusiastically, both striking a similar pose, though tilted toward each other, as if to emphasize both their name and occupation. "We help you learn and properly exercise various yoga to improve your health! Stop by our room if you want a session of fun!" They trotted off then, their little spiel evidently over with.

Once he was certain they were out of their hearing range, Priam mumbled, "You're right. They appear nice enough, but they are definitely a bit, ah… _odd_." Iji nodded, agreeing with the muscly man fully.

A glance at the nearby clock revealed to Iji that she had about five more minutes before her Crazy Orders challenge began, so she then said to the future Wielder of Ragnell, "Oh, looks like I'd better get to the teleporter room. See you later, Priam!"

"And you as well, Iji. I wish you luck!"

As Priam was now alone, he muttered, "Yeah… Probably going to avoid the yoga room, at least for now…"

When Iji closed the door as she walked in, she was met with the sight of Crazy Hand bouncing around erratically, likely in eagerness for the event coming up. The moment he spotted Iji, he flew over to her at roughly half the speed of sound, leaving a small sonic boom in his wake and causing a couple of the tapestries to flutter. "Oooh~! You're here early! That's good! Very good! So good, in fact, that I'll have the time you give you a bit of extra information!" The way he twitched so often and in such generally violent manners that gave Iji cause for concern, though she chose to accept his apparent offer for info regardless.

"… Uh, okay? Tell me more, I guess?"

"Ordinarily, it'd cost either five thousand Gold or a special Pass to get in, but, since this is both the first time _and_ your first time playing my mode, I'll let the costs slide!"

' _Five_ thousand!? _The pay_ - _off must be pretty high if you perform well_ , _then_. _At least_ , _I_ hope _so_.'

"A small portion of your accumulated damage will be healed upon the completion of every battle, and the damage that you have at the moment of taking the offer to fight me will exponentially increase your defense against my attacks, both in terms of damage and knockback infliction." A small giggle left the Hand's would-be mouth; Iji sincerely hoped that it wasn't caused by his hope or need for sadism, if he did indeed have one. "Lastly, the AIs that have been set up for you start out a bit stupid and easier than average to knock around, but the farther you get in, the tougher they become overall.

"Any questions!?" he exclaimed more than asked.

"… No," she stated after a moment of silence.

" _Good_! _Excellent_! And also absolutely _brilliant_! Now, if you would be a dear and step onto the teleporter, we can get this show on the road!"

Iji did so with a few seconds' worth of reluctance, and, with the usual flash and displacement of wind, she was off!


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two: One Crazy Battle

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Firstly: Fifty thousand word milestone: _achieved_! Now, to get to one hundred thousand! Oh, _boy_ …

Shout-outs to shadowmwape for the Follow and Favorite, and to Lurking Pheonix for the latter!

In response to your Review, TheSuperMario… well, I can't really talk about _it_ a whole lot without _spoilers_ , so, sorry if I can't really say anything of significance, at least at the moment!

Lastly, the biggest of apologies yet for the massive wait! Junior year of high school tends to ramp things up in terms of work to take home, and every person's got to have his or her downtime, especially a lazy teenager such as I!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-Two: One Crazy Battle

* * *

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers for_ _Wii U_ soundtrack – _Crazy Orders_ : _Ticket Selection_

When Iji was once again teleported into the vast, black room, she was panting in exertion, legs wobbling slightly as she sat down in exhaustion as her shield flashed red, smoke billowing sporadically from the force field surrounding her body. " _Hah_ … _Hah_ … Damn… I guess… that this is what I get… for being a… "one more time" kind of person, eh…? Ow… legs... so sore…!"

After another few minutes of panting and resting, she stood herself up, muttering, "Well… I think I'll go one more fight… Then Crazy Hand after that…!" She briefly glanced over the holographic screen, noting the large pile of gold, trophies, and chests in the background, as well as her currently high percentage of one hundred and nine. The timer in the corner showed that she had just over a minute and a half left of the original ten minutes. Crazy Hand was taking up most of the screen, however, with his erratic, likely _eager_ switching.

Taking her time to choose the next fight, she tapped the middle ticket, which was a fight against ten easy-to-KO Pac-Mans (' _Pac_ - _Men_?') with items enabled. The stage was Flat Zone; an unfamiliar stage to Iji, but she was determined to win, regardless of the uncertain variable.

She was warped in, and three of the Pac-Man clones were already charging at her. A rocket flew forth from the rectangular barrel of her Nanogun, and two of the things were caught in the blast, being launched at extremely high velocities before hitting the Blast Zone and disappearing. The last one met the other twos' same fate with a kick to the rotund head (which also counted as their bodies, Iji supposed).

She blew through the other seven with relative ease; they didn't really bother to dodge or even attack all that much, and she accumulated only a minuscule twelve percent of damage throughout the ordeal.

As she was teleported back into the dark room, the screen once again brightened, revealing to the green-eyed woman her next set of options. A quick glance showed her that it was now Turn Fourteen, and her damage was at ninety-one. She figured that enough was enough, and, after another minute or so to vent her she finally tapped the brilliant purple "Crazy Hand" ticket above the other three. She was warped onto the iconic Final Destination stage, and the crazed hand entered in a magenta portal. He closed it just as quick as he opened it, and with a _snap_ , it was gone.

"So! Iji! You chose to fight me at Turn Fourteen! Impressive! As your turn count is! Relatively speaking! So high! You shall be fighting a tougher me than you are familiar with! Roughly twice as strong as our previous encounter! It'll be like! Fighting my sibling and I! At the _exact_! _Same_! _Time_! In fact! So be prepared for! Quite the tussle!"

The gun-toting woman pondered upon why he was talking like that, but dismissed that line of thought when she noticed that she felt rather refreshed than the few seconds prior to this moment. Her shield-generating sticker was no longer exuding steam, and wasn't glowing red, either. ' _Must be what he said about my increased defense when fighting him_ …' she pieced together. ' _I feel much less exhausted_ , _too_. _Does having lots of shield damage actually make you feel tired_?' She let out a small hum of thought before being startled out of said thoughts by the insane appendage's scream of delight.

And before she even fully comprehended what was happening, the battle began.

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 3DS_ / _Wii U_ soundtrack – _Final Destination Ver_. _2_

She jumped over the horizontal slap across that stage reactively, avoiding damage entirely and giving Crazy Hand some of the hurt with a volley of MPFBs. He merely giggled as the large charred spot on his… cloth? Skin? Repaired rapidly repaired itself, the hand seeming overall unfazed from her punishment. "That tickled! A few more of those, and I might begin to feel an itch come on!"

The woman merely grimaced at his taunting, switching to the significantly less potent but faster firing Machine Gun. The second and a half of switching time gave the mad hand another opportunity to attack, however, as his fingers seemingly gripped at something that Iji couldn't see before ripping a hole in what may have very well been _reality itself_. Iji gasped at this action, and, feeling the wind howling towards it (as well as her rather long hair), sprinted away.

The hole began to draw here in, despite her running, and she began to come closer and closer…

Until Crazy Hand abruptly let go of the edge of the wormhole he was grasping at, letting out a frustrated groan. "No, no, no! That'd just be too easy for me! I've got to make things… Extra-spicy! No, infernal!" A brief pause. "Scratch those last two, let's make this thing _white hot_!" He then clenched into a fist before generating a bright purple ball of swirling energy, fiercely tossing it into the air. Iji recognized this attack; Master Hand had used a move similar to this one, and she distinctly remembered that being on the ground as this attack was executed was a bad place to be.

So, she simply jumped into the air again, dodging the ground-based explosion created from the ball's contact with the ground, and finally found a half-decent opportunity to strike as she unloaded her Machine Gun rounds on him. This continued for the next two to three seconds, the ginormous, disembodied appendage simply standing there and taking the damage, until…

 _Click_.

"Huh?"

 _Clickclick_.

"Oh, don't tell me…!"

 _Clickclickclick_.

"Of all of the possible times, _now_ is when this thing runs out of Machine Gun ammo!?"

' _Screw it_ , _I_ ' _ll just use the Devastator instead_!'

 _Click_.

"Oh, _you_ ' _ve got to be freakin_ ' _kidding me_! Two of my weapons ran out of ammo practically _simultaneously_!?"

Crazy Hand once again giggled. "Ohohoh! Quite the dilemma you're in, Iji! How will you emerge from this fight victorious _now_ , I wonder?" He made a go at cupping his non-existent chin.

Iji growled in aggravation. "I've got more than just these two weapons in this Nanogun, you know!" She then attempted to use her Rocket Launcher on the hand, which, to her relief, was _not_ out of ammunition. The appendage grunted in surprise as the ensuing explosion connected, as he had expected the attack to fail just like the other two.

"Well, in that case, I suppose that it's time that we seriously get back to our little spat, hmm?" This statement led to a prompt assault, though Crazy Hand mixed his attacks up a bit by arranging his fingers to make himself look like a mock-airplane. Flames erupted from where his hand would instead become a wrist before he flew off like a rocket. He even made the appropriate sound for it, too.

"How is he even…?" Iji mumbled before realizing that he was homing in on her, and she rolled to the side just as would have flown into her. She prepped her Spread Rockets as the hand was flying, and let 'em loose as soon as he returned to his usual position above the left edge of the stage. The hand once again grunted, though he still appeared to be just fine if his appearances were anything to go by. The gargantuan hand then laid himself flat on the floor of the center of Final Destination in a surprisingly calm and still manner before twitching and flailing about like a particularly rabid animal. Iji sprinted away beneath him as he descended, taking the opportunity to attack the now-occupied hand with her CFIS.

The hand screeched in agony as the lightning bolt-like stream of slugs ate away at his exterior, and he backed out of his animalistic bouncing and thrashing, saying, " _Owowow_! That was _rude_! And hurtful! And _rude and hurtful_!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think that it really hurts you in the long run, so stop whining!" Iji almost yelled, still very much irritated from his earlier taunting, only relenting on her hold of the trigger when he flew out of range of the beam. ' _Knowing my luck at the moment_ , _the CFIS is also probably almost out of ammo by this point_ , _so_ …!'

She then opted to go to her very-most basic weapon, as well as her first: the Shotgun. She only had the time to get two sprays of bullets off before the hand once again flew off, though this time he was instead shaped as a drill, all of his fingers aiming to one point just ahead of his center.

He crashed back down onto the stage, an attack of his finally connecting with Iji as she was sent flying far and fast from the sheer force of the blow. She smoothly rolled, recovering from the attack quickly. A quick glance behind her revealed that the strike had sent her from the center of the stage all the way to the eastern edge, despite the supposedly increased abilities of her shield. ' _Guess that he wasn_ ' _t kidding when he said that he was roughly twice as powerful as before_ …!'

She quickly got up as the insane appendage floated his way over to her, still twitching erratically, before he made to grab her. She dodged yet again, giving him a Shocksplinter cell's distinctive red explosion as a "reward" for his efforts. Crazy Hand didn't let out his usual grunt of hurt by this point, though judging by how his wounds and his movements – which were slowly beginning to grow sluggish – she was starting to truly make her mark.

The maddened piece of a body then proceeded to crawl along the ground like a particularly large breed of spider, somehow gyrating intensely enough to make the ground beneath him quake. Iji, as was per her usual, successfully got out of the way, giving him a few more Shotgun blasts as he backed off.

The hand growled – actually _growled like a dog_ – before blatantly saying, "Screw it!" Then he gripped at nothing again; Iji immediately recognized what he was about to do, and paced over to the very edge of the stage before switching over to her Spread Rocket Launcher and unloading all of the explosives the weapon had left in it on him.

Just as she felt the wind began to tug at her hair again, the portal's edge was let go of, the hole in reality itself dissipating entirely a few moments afterwards. The hand was awkwardly still considering his character for a moment, before…

" _Nooooo_!"

He flew off, violet and black bursts of energy violently spewing from his wrist. Iji sighed in heavy relief, relaxing her grip on the Nanogun as the hand disappeared from sight. "That takes care of that…" Iji mumbled, being teleported off and back into the actual building of the Smash Brothers with the typical flash of light and rush of air…


	24. Chapter H: The Obligatory Spooktale

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

Here, live, with another chappy of _Dimensions and Realities_! The longest one to date, to be unnecessarily exact! In this debatably canon adventure, we delve into the depths of spookiness (yet not quite horror) to celebrate the generally scary festivities that occur during the month of October (even though it's probably still a bit early, at least here in America)! Featuring… well, if I talked about all of that here, it'd ruin the surprise!

Read for yourselves to find out the happenstances contained herein, viewers!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter H: The Obligatory Spooktale

* * *

The woods surrounding the building that the Smashers inhabited were, relatively speaking, quiet that night. It was well past twilight; the stars were twinkling over the dark violet backdrop of space – though, if one was used to night skies in the World of Trophies, they would likely notice that the sky was a few shades darker than normal. Why and how, you might be asking? Well, it's that time of year again that comes by every tenth month of the year. That's right: it's Halloween! Though, chances are you could already guess that, so why is it that I am saying such things…?

Ah, yes, _anyways_ , the sky was a decent amount darker than usual because, as previously stated, it was Halloween night, and as for how it's darker than usual?

Let's just say that a certain giant hand is capable of quite a lot besides fighting and leave it at that, hmm?

… Oh, wait a second. Why am I even describing the woods around the building when the series of events in this chapter and the next will hardly be taking place out there!?

Instead, let us correct this mistake and go to the building's basement –an even _more_ ghastly and cliché place to start a (pseudo) horror story – and into the room where Iji first entered the world of the Smash Brothers. Seeing as how this room serves no purpose but to let people enter and exit this world, I'd also say that it's fairly obvious that someone – or _something_ …

 _Bah_ , scratch that last part, it's really just a _someone_ …

… Will be coming through the teleporter in the center of the room to spook the ever-living crap out of the building's occupants. Speaking of, I'd say that it's about time to get back to my more "serious" style of writing, else I may ruin the spooky experience more than I already may've for you readers!

* * *

Cue music – _Luigi_ ' _s Mansion_ : _Dark Moon_ soundtrack – _Gloomy Manor_

The teleporter clicked on.

A second later, with a small time-space displacement, another being came through.

It came here with two simple purposes:

Ascertain if this place was a threat.

And find out if this realm had humans in it.

And if it _did_ have humans?

Well… That's best left to the imagination.

After a moment of judging its surroundings, it slowly, quietly opened the door of the room. Peering out into the hallway, it looked both ways, immediately noticing the stairwell to its right and the door to another room on its left. It recognizing the depictions of a blue male and a pink female as indicators to a rest room. Easily piecing together the loud, pounding noises of the party upstairs, it was then that it got an idea;

' _Eventually_ , _someone_ ' _s going to wander down here looking for a bathroom break_. _And if the poor sap happens to be a human_?' It couldn't help but grin in anticipation. ' _Then it_ ' _s going to be getting a break that_ ' _ll last far_ , far _longer than they first expected_. _And then_ …!' It chuckled for a moment, _loudly_ at that, before promptly and swiftly shutting its mouth again. ' _Better stay quiet_ , _as well as patient_ …'

* * *

Pikachu heard the sound of obviously evil laughter in the basement being used with relative ease. Being a mouse with notably large ears had its perks, after all, especially when it came to recognizing sounds such as the aforementioned laughter.

It also probably helped that it was rather loud. Loud enough for him to hear, at the very least.

Saying in his name-syllable-based tongue that he had to go do something to his current person of conversation, who happened to be his fellow Pokémon, Charizard, he leapt off his stool at the lengthy table before heading in the direction of the closest stairwell, the Flame Pokémon shooting him a curious glance before returning to her – yes, _her_ – meal.

Hopping down the stairs with practiced ease, the Mouse Pokémon paced towards the room which he suspected the laughter came from. He crept towards the door – which he noticed with only mild concern was not completely closed – before sluggishly nudging the somewhat opaque open. Before he could go into the room and investigate, however, he was roughly grabbed by the neck and hoisted upwards with such speed to make him momentarily confused.

He could now get a(n all too close up) view of the building's uninvited guest.

He couldn't really discern the thing's gender underneath all of the heavy-set armor that it wore, but regardless of its gender, it was just about the scariest thing he had had the misfortune of encountering in a dark and empty space. The undoubtedly weighty steel plates it was covered reminded him distinctly of those silly-looking human knights, what with the red ponytail protruding from its back and the way its equipment was fashioned in, with the exception of the front of its helmet.

This is why it was so scary: there were two eye-holes, but it only seemed to possess a singular eye with a yellow sclera and crimson iris. Its right eye gazed upon his own, as if daring him to make eye contact, but his own stare was elsewhere: specifically, at the massive, shark-like maw on the helmet's front. The largest tooth-like piece of metal coming out from its center was _just_ poking him in the jaw, barely _not_ drawing blood and practically scaring the little Pokémon witless. A tiny nudge from the spike-esque steel forced his gaze unto the being's own, and it squinted at him, as if… not quite seeing him fully in the dark?

With its free hand, it somehow managed to generate a softly glowing, cyan spear out of nowhere, and hoisted it up close to Pikachu's face to brighten its perspective a bit. Pikachu would've instinctually shied away from the pointy, glowing edge of the weapon, but the current position of its helmet against his head prevented any sort of major motion.

A second or so of its gazing upon Pikachu passed before it gasped, throwing the lance away, which disintegrated a moment later, and it slowly raised Pikachu a greater distance away as to not prod him with its helmet. Then, with a rather large amount of trepidation, Pikachu watched as it grasped at the bottom of its helmet and began to pull the piece of metal upwards…

* * *

Jigglypuff began to feel a bit of concern over her fellow Pokémon's wellbeing after he headed down the stairs to investigate the laughter that had rang out. He wasn't the only one to've heard it; he was simply the only one to act upon the happenstance.

Jigglypuff didn't head out because of… _reasons_.

No, it wasn't because she was _scared_!

It was because… _uh_ …

 _A_ - _Anyways_! Getting off-track, here!

Her point here was that that was nearly twenty minutes ago. The Balloon Pokémon was thusly justifiably concerned about her friend's wellbeing, and, giving Charizard a brief wave, followed Pikachu's path down the series of downward steps, albeit with large hesitance and periods of stillness between each individual step. Charizard waved in turn before quirking a brow. ' _Why is everyone walking away from me all of a sudden_ …? _Am I really that poor of a conversation choice_ , _or_ …?' The Flame Pokémon couldn't help but sigh in mild depression…

Upon drawing close to the door, Jigglypuff could barely make out the sounds of… were those _coo_ s and _aww_ s? As well as noises of complaint and discomfort from Pikachu? Quickly getting a "brilliant" idea, Jigglypuff puffed itself up to roughly twice its original size for the purpose of "intimidating" the Mouse Pokémon's assaultant before heading into the teleporter room, quickly glancing around to ascertain the possible threats.

She needn't have looked for long; her friend was being held in the arms of some sort of human-like being. It was covered in steel plating and had an almost fiery red ponytail. Its helmet, which reminded Jigglypuff distinctly of some of the more fiercesome predators of her world, was laying off to the side of the being's currently sitting body, revealing its features to the primarily pink Pokémon.

A blue, seemingly scaly face was present on its head, an eyepatch covering up its left eye (or possibly its lack thereof). Its right eye was an odd combination of red encircled by yellow, and its open mouth was split into a wide, scary grin as it roughly _petted_ Pikachu, showing off its clean, yet frighteningly _sharp_ and _large_ teeth. Two red-on-blue fins protruded from the side of its head in place of potential ears.

"Aww… Who's an adorable little monster? You are! _You are_!" she said to Pikachu, as if he were so infantile to require such intonations to understand its – no, _her_ words, if the tone of its voice was anything to go by. Said Pokémon looked immensely aggravated by this little arrangement, constantly making attempts at getting out of the fish-woman's grasp. None were successful, however, even when the woman turned its glance from him to look up at her new… " _guest_ ". She gasped as Jigglypuff glared at her in a challenging fashion, though she hardly seemed to mind the shows of aggression. She looked happier about this scenario than beforehand, if anything.

" _Oh_. _My_. _God_. Is this world simply _filled_ with adorable things like you guys, or am I just getting really lucky today!? _C_ ' _mere_ , _you_!" The knightly looking woman stood herself up with startling speed considering how heavy her armor appeared and then began to sprint towards Jigglypuff, Pikachu still firmly in the grasp of her right hand. He yelped at the sudden of motion, once again feeling momentarily nauseous, before he was almost literally dragged along for the ride that this crazy woman was on.

 _The not_ - _so_ - _wild_ _Jigglypuff fled_!

 _Fish_ - _Woman used Pursuit_!

 _It_ ' _s_ (not really) _super_ - _effective_!

 _The not_ - _so_ - _wild Jigglypuff was trapped_!

Now, both of the Pokémon were in the female's grasp. She chuckled in victory. "You can't escape from me that easily! I'll have you know that I suplex giant boulders, other monsters, and _monster children_ on a regular basis _just because I can_!"

A brief pause, then: "Which are actually feats of strength rather than speed, but _you get the point_!" She oriented her arms as to make certain that the Pokémon were practically up in her face before saying, with a manic smile: "Now I am going to cuddle you two, and you are both going to _like it_!" The two groaned, though the larger monster seemed to not comprehend their frustration as she laughed again, her chortles sounding out for those with even remotely decent hearing in the building to hear…

* * *

Iji finally heard the distinctly feminine, yet simultaneously oddly masculine laugher from downstairs, not quite noticing it earlier due to the, ah… "unique" music selection that was playing at the moment. 'Honestly, the laughter in the songs is more obnoxious than catchy or "scary",' she silently remarked, just a bit irked at the soundtrack choice. Figuring that she had better places to be than up here, socializing with no one at the moment and idly eating junk food, she headed down the stairs to investigate the source of the chortling.

She warily closed in on the room which she heard – and still _did_ hear, actually – the noise, and, quickly recognizing that it was coming from the teleporter room which she came into this world from, inferred that the building now housed an uninvited guest. The human woman sluggishly opened the door to said room, doing so to make certain that no creaks rang out to draw the "guest's" attention, and peeked inside only when she had just enough room to fit her head through.

She barely managed to stifle a gasp as she spotted the fish-featured woman, as well as her roughly affectionate treatment of Jigglypuff and Pikachu. She backed away from the door, making sure that her steps were quiet, before putting a hand to her chin and pondering on how to go about this. Should she get her friends' help, or pull out her Nanogun and handle the situation on her lonesome?

She spent nearly an entire minute thinking upon this decision. Finally, she decided to go it alone, taking the Nanoweapon out of the case slung over her shoulder, fondly remembering the birthday in which she received it in the process, before opening the door and saying, with the largest amount of confidence and authority she could muster, "Who's there?"

Cue music – _Undertale_ soundtrack – _NGAHHH_!

The other female was startled by this more or less sudden entrance, and, gasping and hurriedly standing up, unintentionally let go of the two Pokémon she was "snuggling". She snarled in frustration as the two ran behind Iji, frowning deeply and menacingly at this slight, then sharply intook a breath of air as she beheld the person a few meters away from here position. "A human!?" She chortled giddily from this discovery. Iji was none too unnerved by this action. " _Yes_ ~! Finally!" She created another spear out of thin air, aiming the blade of the weapon at the human in a threatening manner.

"Human! You ought to be thankful for your eminent demise, as yours will be the last soul necessary to set my people back in my world free from their – _our_ – prison!"

The green-eyed lass was simply confused from her statement. " _What_? Souls? Prison? The Hell are you going on about!?"

Her inquiries went ignored by the armored female as she drew the spear back, clearly preparing to throw it at the Human Anomaly. Said Anomaly dove out of the way of the attack just as she actually did throw the weapon, which, due to its miss, embedded itself half-way into a the opposite wall instead of Iji's flesh. Though it faded into nothingness a few short seconds later, the woman's eyes still went almost as wide as saucers at the monster's… well, _monstrous_ show of strength.

"You can't hide from me, _human_!" proclaimed the anthropomorphic fish-woman as she sprinted out of the room, singular eye and grin filled with malice. Iji was startled at her blatantly staggering amount of agility, especially considering just how heavy her armor seemed to be.

"We don't even know each other's names, and you're _already trying to kill me_!? _What did I ever do to you_!?" she exclaimed back, priming her Nanogun and aiming it at the other woman's person.

"For being unlucky enough to be the first human to encounter me, of course!" she responded surely. With a wave of a hand, three more spears were created, floating in mid-air for a second or so before flying towards Iji. She, along with the duo of Pokémon, fled up the stairs, with the sole human of the four barely avoiding the weapons' deadly edges. Not before she attempted to feed her apparent enemy a few Machine Gun rounds, however. The key word here, though, was definitely _attempt_ – the bullets just seemed to deflect right off of her armor, and she certainly didn't want to kill her, either. As a result, she didn't really suffer any sort of damage, nor was she stopped in her tracks in the slightest as she followed the other woman up the stairs.

This was a spur-of-the-moment thing on Iji's part, but after climbing the stairwell, she realized that her going up the stairs was actually a fairly good idea.

She was hardly the only person in the building, after all.

Taking a quick glance down the stairs, she quickly guesstimated how long it'd take the monster to get up the stairs. However strong a person's leg muscles were, going up such a long stairwell'd definitely slow a person down, and the fish-like woman was evidently no exception to this basic, common rule.

' _Ten seconds at most_ , _I think_! _Better make this next part quick_ , _then_!'

Whistling to her fellow Smashers to get their respective attentions, she yelled, "Guys! We've got an uninvited guest coming up the stair in a few seconds! Help me out with inca–!"

Another lance embedded itself into the wall next to her head. Iji stifled the urge to scream in surprise, and instead hopped out of the staircase. Nearly everyone in the nearby rooms jumped to attention at this show of very much lethal intent, and those who immediately didn't quickly did so upon hearing the unfamiliar voice shout, "Get back here, you damned _coward_!"

Everyone crowded around the stairwell entrance/exit, readying themselves for battle and drawing their weapons if they happened to have one.

When the armored menace finished her ascent up the stairs, she once again threatened, "Ready to die, _human_ –!?" She promptly cut herself off as she came almost face-to-face with the fifty-odd Smash combatants. With a nervous grin, she began to slowly back off towards the steps, her armor clanking loudly with each step. She also degenerated the three spears that she had already created in an attempt to get across the point that she would no longer attempt to fight. Sweat began to pour down her forehead as she babbled almost incoherently, very clearly attempting to come up with something to say. With a forced, uneasy grin upon her features, she stuttered out, "… _Uhh_. Hey, guys…? How's it goin'?"

No one was humored by her words. Marth, being quite possibly the most eloquent speaker and best leader of the group of Smashers, marched up to her and stared her dead in the eyes – or, rather, eye. A hand resting steadily on Falchion's sheath, he spoke, softly and yet somehow also with a truly immense amount of intimidation:

"I will ask this only once: Flee now, whoever you are, or face our collective wrath."

The woman was rather unenthused by his words, if her visible and auditory snarl were anything to go by. Her anger seemingly re-kindled her fiery confidence, and she spoke to the emperor, "Who do you think I am, some sort of coward!? I'm not leaving, not when the opportunity to set my people free is literally within my reach! Not without a fight, at least!" She once again generated her weapon of choice, clasping it tightly in her right hand as she glared back at him fiercely.

Marth's eyes narrowed to an even sharper degree than before. "A fight, is it? Hmm… Well, in that case…" He unsheathed his sword, pointing it as the red-haired female's concealed sternum. "I propose an honorable duel. One-on-one. No interferences from my comrades. The loser does what the winner sees fit to do." Most of the on-lookers couldn't help but gasp at Marth's audacious proposal.

"Marth! Are you sure about his!?" Iji exclaimed, shocked.

"Very certain, yes. Besides, all of us going against your lonesome simply does not sit well with my sense of honor."

The fish-woman grinned widely in a mocking manner at his display of honor, though, contradictorily enough, respect glimmered in her eyes, as well. "Huh! Very well! Just know that if you lose, _human_ , your life'll be forfeit to me!"

Marth merely nodded, his posture the very definition of calm despite the circumstances he had just forced himself into. "If you wish it to be if I lose. Just know that I am not so easily felled in combat." He stretched a hand out to the slightly taller woman. She rose a brow. "A handshake, to seal our deal," he elaborated.

The woman laughed again, that sneer still on her face as gloved hand met gloved hand and shook. After that, Marth leaned over to Iji, whispering, "Iji. I would request that you would hand me your map."

The other human's eyes widened. ' _Forgot I still had that thing_! _I haven_ ' _t had to use it in_ _quite a while_ ; _guess I must_ ' _ve forgotten about it_ …' She fished the requested object out of her top-right pocket and forked it over, with Marth nodding to her graciously.

"We shall meet in the central teleporter room marked on that map in thirty minutes. We shall have our duel… well, not necessarily _there_ , but… you shall see when the time comes." The armored woman just nodded, sneer fading away slightly as she walked back down the stairs, likely to fetch her helmet and do further preparations.

Once the click of a door shutting was heard from the basement floor, a decent chunk of the people sighed in relief; the intimidating figure had left their respective presences, at least for the moment. Bubbles and her male counterpart jogged over to the Hero-King, both looking immensely concerned.

It was Robin who spoke for the duo. "Milord Marth! Are you certain about this? None of us know what that woman is capable of!"

Marth merely shook his head. "Yes, Robin, I very much am. She strikes me as the honorable sort, so I highly doubt that she'll resort to things such as underhanded tricks. I have some rather significant experience fighting lance-users, as well, so I believe that I'll know what I'm doing whilst fighting this woman."

Everyone else who hadn't left by this point looked on, concerned for the emperor's future wellbeing…

* * *

Iji nervously sat on one of the plush chairs of the bleachers of the rather large teleporter room, resisting the urge to bit her nails. There was only about a singular minute left until the other-worldly woman arrived, and the battle between her and Marth commencing shortly after. Like Robin, Iji truly felt worried for her friend and comrade; this woman could throw weapons hard enough to the point where they pierced most of the way through the building's sturdy walls, and could manage at least three of the throwable lances at once!

The fish-featured woman barged in just a few seconds before the arranged time officially came along, helmet draped between an arm and her torso, looking eager for either a good fight or lots of bloodshed.

Possibly both.

"Well, _human_ , are you ready to die!?" she mockingly asked of Marth, appearing quite sure of her victory.

"Not particularly. That may have something to do with the fact that I have no intent of dying any time soon, however," he smartly replied, completely serious.

A scoff. "Clever, aren'cha? Well, we'll see how far that smart-ass attitude of yours'll get you in the field of battle!" she chortled out.

A few moments of silence passed, during which the fish-woman put her helmet back on and began staring Marth down. The blue-eyed man returned the gesture, seeming unaffected by her otherwise intimidating visage. After said moments passed, a voice rang out over the intercom in one of the ceiling's intercoms.

"U-Um… The teleporter's been set for Final Destination!" the space-engineer, Alph, announced, seeming thoroughly unnerved by the woman's appearance in her full suit of armor, even from what was likely several rooms' worth of distance and walls away. "Everything's r-ready to go!"

Marth nodded to the small camera attached to the microphone, and, completely ignoring the shielding sticker dispenser, walked onto the teleporter and disappeared, his fellow combatant following him in a couple of seconds later.

Iji was yet again flabbergasted. ' _They_ 're going in without the shields? _But won_ ' _t that leave Marth with an unfair disadvantage_ …?' She shook off her concerns, at least in that department. She firmly believed that Marth would win despite the hindrance of not having nearly as much armor as his enemy – speed was his primary strength, after all.

They teleported onto the center of Final Destination. The woman adjacent to Marth looked around briefly in wonder at the beautiful surroundings before shaking her head, likely to get her thoughts back on track. Marth and the woman once again stared each other down for a second or so before mutually nodding, walking slowly to their respective ends of the stage. They turned around, one drawing their weapon and the other creating one, before they bowed…

Cue music – _Undertale_ soundtrack – _Spear of Justice_

… and charged at their respective opponent.

The woman gave a mighty grunt as she thrust her weapon forward, towards Marth's sternum, as they both rapidly closed the distance between them.

Marth dodged to the side with his usual swiftness, thrusting his own weapon towards his foe's head. The woman barely moved her head out of the way in time for the attack to be non-lethal, though a deep gouge in the right side of her helmet was now present. With a frustrated grunt, she drew her weapon back and attempted another assault. Marth avoided harm again, retracting his weapon from its position next to the woman's head.

Iji noticed the small stains of red on Marth's blade and felt worried that Marth was intent on killing the woman, but quickly corrected her thoughts. ' _Marth clearly isn't the kind of person to kill just because he_ ' _s fighting someone_. _He_ 's _loved back in his world for his benevolence and mercy_ , _not his want to needlessly kill stuff_!'

The two backed off for a moment, momentarily gauging each other again, before resuming the battle.

For every generally miniscule scratch the woman inflicted upon Marth (Iji and most of the Hero-King's other friends flinched and/or recoiled every time this happened), he appeared to return every injury back to his opponent with thrice the frequency and magnitude. Just a minute and a half into their duel, and Marth seemed to be quickly pulling ahead, with the fish-woman's armor having at least a dozen and a half gouges in it. The Falchion seemed barely coated in blood, however, re-assuring Iji that Marth wasn't using lethal force.

' _Either that_ , _or this woman_ ' _s got better reaction times than all of us first thought_.'

Eventually, however, the female growled loudly in irritation. She hopped several feet away from him before she created another lance, though this one glowed green rather than the usual cyan. She swung it, and an aura that same shade of green spread out, covering Marth before concentrating around him. Marth tried getting out of the way, but was startled when he found that he felt as if his legs were glued to the ground.

"When you're green, _human_ , you can't move your legs, which means no escaping from my spears or I!" She chortled as she generated a plethora of the things, then proceeded to chuck them at Marth in small groups.

Marth's eyes widened, and mumbled a short "Damn!" as he watched them fly closer and closer. He desperately swung his blade at one as it approached, and was pleasantly surprised as it dissipated in two. He then sliced at the other spears approaching him, barely twisting his body and arms in time to destroy them before they hit. His foe's eye also widened at this. "Your blade is magical!? Well, in that case…!"

A larger amount of the weapons was then chucked at him, and he barely managed in avoiding bodily harm from them, destroying the lances one by one before turning back towards the biggest threat. She growled, chucking the last dozen of them at him frustratedly.

He made all but one of them dissipate, leaving only one left. He attempted to swing his blade and destroy the last one, as well, by missed, and watched as it flew closer…

And missed entirely, leaving a sizably dent on the surface of Final Destination. ' _Seems as if her frustration got the better of her aim_ …' he realized, sighed in relief. Twisting around again, he was surprised to find that he could once again move his legs again. That relief was short-lived, however, as the armored female leaped at him, screaming, " _Die_ –!"

But she once again missed, as Marth leaped to the side. She ended up landing sloppily on the floor, leaving her wide open to attack. As she hastily turned around to faced Marth and get up at the same time, the blue-haired man thrusted his sword forth…

And stopped it not even half an inch away from her remaining eye. "It would seem as if your impatience as gotten the better of you… You ought to yield this battle. You are defeated," he said succinctly.

' _Despite very nearly_ killing him _so many times_ , _he_ still _shows that woman mercy_?' Iji thought, reminding her distinctly of her own journey.

The armored woman simply stared at the tip of the blade for several seconds, then slowly altered her gaze to stare at Marth.

Another several seconds passed, before:

" _No_ ," she said, as if that one, simple word summed up her entire situation. Marth let out an inquisitive hum.

"If I've been defeated, then I want to go out the warrior's way. _End me_."

Marth shook his head.

" _Do it_! Or are you too much of a coward to end one measly monster…?"

Marth let out another hum, this one patient. The tip of the Falchion was still positioned so that it was almost poking the woman's eye out.

"I do not consider myself a coward for ending you – it is just that I've ended so many lived already, and I have decided that I will spare anyone that I can, if I can. Besides…"

A cheeky grin promptly emerged.

"It was shaken upon that the loser is to do what the winner sees fit, yes? I thusly say that you shall live, and that you shall also leave this realm at your earliest convenience."

The female let out a guttural, borderline _animalistic_ growl of anger. "You cheeky little…!" But then she sighed. "Fine. I've got friends who're waiting for me at home to return, anyways."

Marth stretched a hand out for her to take, but she refused the generous offer and stood herself up, giving her armor a once-over before taking her shark-esque helmet off.

"Damn… She's going to have a field day mending my armor back together…" she mumbled, inspecting the tears in the piece of equipment closely. Marth chose not to ask who "she" was, instead awaiting the teleportation back into the Smash building. Silence permeated the area before Marth consoled, "If it is of any consolation, you were a powerful opponent. Were it not for your lack of concentration, I still would've still likely been immobile, and you would have won."

The woman just glared at him for the umpteenth time. "What, are you just rubbing your victory in my face, now?"

"No, I am merely giving you advice, that being that maintaining your cool whilst in combat is absolutely vital to your survival." The female monster just grunted at him, not really appearing to care for his meaningful tip.

Shortly after that sentence was uttered, the two flashed off of Final Destination…

* * *

Cue music – _Undertale_ soundtrack – _Shop_

An hour had passed since the duel, and, after a bit of bandage application from a doctor that looked distinctly like Mario (he returned the glare that the anthropomorphic fish gave him as he applied said bandages), the young-ish monster was lead back to the teleporter room in the basement. Not without a dozen-strong escort consisting of some of the stronger Smashers, such as Ike and Samus.  
After a few minutes of the more learned Smashers tinkering around with the teleporter, one, Captain Falcon (Iji was shocked to learn that he knew his way around such complex machines, at least until seeing the marvel of technology that was the Blue Falcon) brazenly announced:

"Sorry, fish-lady, but since we don't know the relative co-ordinates of your world, I don't think that we can be sending you home any time soon!"

The woman looked shocked, then angered at this declaration. " _What_!? _Fish_ - _lady_!? And what do you mean, _you_ _don_ ' _t_ –!?"

A flash and the loud clanking of metal meeting metal suddenly sounded out, startling everyone in the room.

Where there was previously empty space, there was now a rectangular object. It featured two coil-like arms and a single wheel extending out from its bottom-center. A sectioned screen was on its front, and a row of dark yellow rectangles almost gave off the impression of its having a mouth.

It quickly glanced around the room, and, with a gratingly loud volume, spoke:

"OH ME, OH MY! ARE THESE _HUMANS_ I AM LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW!?"

"Yes, you pile of bolts, these are humans!" the woman responded, still appearing irked by her defeat. "And _no_ , you can't fight them. If just one of them managed to beat _me_ of all people, then I'd feel tempted to laugh at just how fast _you_ ' _d_ fall to all of these guys at once!"

The robot, if it was indeed one, bit back, "OH? IS SOMEONE SORE ABOUT LOSING?" It chuckled before propping a finger skyward. "ANYWAYS! THE DOCTOR HAS SENT ME TO RECOVER YOU FROM THIS DIMENSION! YOU HAVE BEEN GONE FOR A FEW HOURS, YOU SEE, AND MY CREATOR WAS GETTING RATHER… _FLUSTERED_ … ABOUT YOUR PRORONGED ABSENCE."

The fringe-eared female sighed. "She screamed at you to go in after me, didn't she?"

"JUST ABOUT, YES. SO, ARE YOU COMING BACK WITH ME, OR NOT?" That inquiry turned out to be entirely rhetorical; an arm stretched out from the side and grabbed her by the backside of her armor, and it reeled both itself and the fish woman in once it got a secure-enough grip. It turned around, the woman still in hand (who looked incredibly angry at being treated like, say, a suitcase), before saying to the small crowd, in an unfittingly cheery voice:

"HUMANS, AND WHATEVER THE REST OF YOU ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO BE! DON'T EXPECT TO SEE US AGAIN! IF EVEN A SINGULAR ONE OF YOU CAN BEAT SOMEONE AS STRONG AS THIS ONE, THEN THERE WOULD BE NO POINT IN SENDING THROUGH ANYONE ELSE THROUGH AND ENDANGERING THEM. SO, _DARLINGS_ , I BID YOU ALL A FOND FAREWELL!"

With its part being said, the rectangular robot and its "baggage" hopped through the teleportation device, finally relieving the Smashers of the threat (and general irritance) that was the female monster.

At that specific moment in time, all of the remaining people in the room collectively had one thought in their heads aside from a heavy sense of respite:

'… _Darlings_? _Huh_?'

Well, at least until Master Hand teleported into the basement room and bellowed, "I leave for five hours – _five_! – and practically the _second_ I return, a bunch of the Smasher tells me that someone came along and threatened to kill someone here! So…"

He pointed a finger to all of them collectively, and muttered, with an eerie quietness, " _Would anyone here care to explain the details of these events_ …?"

Their thoughts then became, in various forms, ' _Oh_ , crap!'

* * *

 _Meanwhile_ …

* * *

A certain skeleton sneezed.

After a few moments, he mumbled, "huh. almost feels to me like a bunch 'a' people are all about to get dunked on at once…"

A shrug.

"eh. 's not my problem, anyhow…"


	25. Chapter Twenty-Three: A Nightmare

_Author_ ' _s Note_ :

My sincerest of apologies for the disproportionately long wait in relation to this chapter's length. _Of Children_ , _Men_ , _and Monsters_ has just gotten to the "real" story, so to speak, and I feel that I needed a bit of a reprieve from that rather long previous chapter, lest I burn my passion for writing out.

A few shout-outs to November Red Angel and RavenThePirate for both the Favorite and Follow! You do this not-so-old man proud, lads/lassies!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Nightmare

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers for Wii U_ soundtrack – _Crazy Orders_ : _Final Battle Victory_

Iji was transported back into the chair-filled teleporter room, still feeling a bit dizzy as well as winded after the series of battles she had endured in Crazy Orders. The descendant of the wielder of Ragnell was the first to come down from his seat, giving her a few hearty pats on the back, grinning widely whilst doing so. Said pats had quite a bit of strength to them, to the point where Iji nearly lost her balance and fell over to the floor. With an apologetic mumble, Priam relented on his pseudo-assault.

"Sorry about that. You did good there, Iji! A bit better than I would've expected, in fact! How's about we head down to the dining room and have ourselves a nice, hearty meal?"

After getting her balance straight, Iji responded, "After a bit of rest. Give me a half-hour of alone time in my room; I'll probably be all rested up after that. If you'll excuse me…"

Priam gave her another heavy pat on the shoulder before she left the room, probably just to make sure that she got that he was proud of her recent efforts.

Iji plopped down on her bed, feeling thoroughly exhausted by what she had just accomplished. Propping her legs over the covers, she let out a lengthy sigh.

' _Now_ , _if only I could win against the_ other Smashers, _I_ ' _d_ really _start feeling better about myself_ …'

That's not to say that she had confidence issues – far from it, actually. She just felt a tad insecure about not earning a win against her fellows as of yet.

Before she even realized it, she felt her eyes closing in an attempt to give the woman a chance to rest. She was too tired to resist the tempting lull of sleep. Her last thoughts before sleep overtook her are as follows:

'… _Aw_ , _you know what_? _Why not_. _I_ ' _m sure no one_ ' _d mind if I slept for a little while_ ; _they know what_ _I_ ' _ve just been through_ , _and I think_ they _think that this is some sleep well_ - _earned_ …'

* * *

Cue music – _Iji_ soundtrack – _Hade Shade_

…

Her eyes opened again. She took in the unfamiliar sights, and, noting their odd features, quickly realized that she was most likely dreaming at the moment.

"Drat. And just when I thought that I was really going to have a good rest, too."

But her rest was about to go from only somewhat calm to incredibly _not_ - _calm_ rather quickly.

The dreamscape swiftly transitioned from a mix of grays and greens to a stark, bleak stretch of black. A rainbow-colored dot then appeared from somewhere in the seemingly endless void, and floated over to Iji. The woman wanted to move, but found herself incapable, as if she were rooted to the spot. A glance at her feet revealed to her that the blackness was slowly creeping up on her from the floor, and crawling slowly upon on her person. She let out a frightened gasp, and desperately attempted to move, but once again discovered that she was incapable of doing so.

Sluggishly, the black stuff climbed higher and higher as the orb drew closer. No matter how much Iji struggled, Iji couldn't move, and as the stuff neared her neckline, she let out a despairing cry for help…

 _But no one came_.

The orb was now practically face-to-face with her. Iji was immensely tempted to cry, but stifled her tears. If this thing was going to end her, then she wouldn't go out like some cry-baby!

Just as the enveloped her vision and person completely, she heard an off series of beep-like noises…

-.- - ..- / .- .-. . / - .. -. . / -. - .-

" _Iji_!"

She heard a voice.

" _Iji_! _Wake up_!"

The orb glowed red, shaking fiercely for a short while before disappearing, the shadowy substance doing likewise as the dream collapsed into a furious miasma of memories not Iji's own…

…

* * *

Before she awoke with a gasp, panting heavily. Sweat poured furiously from her forehead, and she immediately glanced around in a frantic manner. A hand held her shaking form steady, and Iji heard someone say, "Iji, calm down! You've just had a nightmare! None of that was real!"

Another twist of the head, and Iji was staring directly into a pair of eyes. She noticed the odd symbol in the left eye of the person currently looking at her. The rest of the face was very familiar to the woman, feminine features aside, and then Iji realized who she was.

"Lucina?"

The hand retracted from her shoulder. "Indeed. You were gone an hour and a half longer than you said you would be, so I came to your room to investigate and found you twitching and mumbling incoherently in your sleep. Then you started screaming, as if you were in some severe pain…" She appeared very concerned.

"Do you wish to discuss what you saw in your nightmare, or…?"

The green-shirted woman shook her head, swiping an arm over her forehead to get rid od the rather startling amount of perspiration on it. She then wiped the arm on the bed sheets, saying during that action, "No… It's probably nothing. Not like it made any sense, anyways."

Lucina appeared hesitant to let the matter go. "Are you certain? It would not be of any detriment to me for you to talk; I've nothing planned any time in the immediate future…"

Iji once again shook her head, now proceeding to rise from her bed. "Again, no. The thought is definitely appreciated, though." She smiled appreciatively at the other woman appropriately.

She hoped that the wielder of the Parallel Falchion wouldn't notice her worry, and was relieved a tad when she, indeed, did not. "If you insist upon it, I suppose that I'll let this go. Now, shall we go to your impromptu feast? You've been keeping everyone waiting, though, luckily, most of the other Smashers have since found entertainment in each other." She chortled briefly. "You should've seen what Bowser Junior and Toon Link did to Greninja. It may have been mean-spirited, but that hardly stopped their little joke from being funny for the rest of us."

"I can only imagine…" Iji said in reply. Leaving her Nanogun behind, Iji left the room alongside the slightly younger woman to finally consume her much-desired (as well as much-earned) meal…


	26. Chapter Twenty-Four: Old Comrades

Author's _Note_ :

Oh, _ye gods_ , look at me, slacking so much! It's been so long since the last chapter! I do apologize (again) for my laziness! I blame the recent reprieve from school, Thanksgiving parties, my own birthday, and Xenoblade Chronicles X! I hope that you all understand, and sorry, guys and/or gals!

And as for your Review, nightelf37?

 _For the love of_ – _not_ again!

That's it! Vetoing future use of Morse Code! It clearly ain't working out!

Though, if you're wondering…

" _You are mine now_ …"

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-Four: Old Comrades

* * *

A few days had passed since the green-eyed woman's victory in Crazy Orders, as well as the her freakish nightmare. With the funds obtained from that, as well as with the money acquired via another play-through of Classic Mode and her own stores of the stuff, Iji had managed to pay Master Hand somewhat hefty four thousand Gold requirement for her in-room aquarium.

Speaking of, Iji had went to Smashville to grab the Fish Pokémon to escort it to its new home.

"Come on, Feebas!"

A few ripples in the water appeared before it made itself visible to Iji, happily crying all the while.

"Hey, there! Yeah, it's me, alright! I'm not here just to give you attention, though!"

The relatively ugly Pokémon somehow managed to chirp in an inquisitive manner.

Iji, understanding the meaning behind the cry in an odd sort of way, responded, "Well, as it so turns out, I've managed to pay for my in-room aquarium! Which means that you'll be coming and _living_ with me from now on, little guy!"

The fish-esque monster's eyes widened a tad more than usual, and it shook itself side to side in the water, sending water flying every which way. Iji swiftly realized her folly.

"Girl?"

An affirmative "Feebas!"

"Right, sorry. I never really thought about it… Well, gender confirmations aside, come over here so I can get you out of the pond!"

The newly identified female Pokémon did just that, practically flying through the water and leaping into the air for Iji, intending to quite literally be caught by her. Letting out a small shout of surprise, she managed it, but was just a bit irked at her now-wet clothes. The Feebas, realizing its mistake, gazed up into the woman's eyes apologetically.

"… It's fine, Feebas. Besides, clothes are just clothes! I'm not some cliché fashionista weirdo!"

She appeared gladdened at this re-assurance, though was still very clearly feeling a bit guilty for her "leap before you look" action. Iji took note of this.

"No, really, it's fine! I haven't actually washed this set of clothes in a while, so I was probably going to put these things in the washer soon, anyways!"

She stared into her eyes for another series of moments, but looking away with a small huff, as if to say, "I know that you're bluffing, but I'll go along with it for now."

Iji shrugged at this gesture, finally heading to the path and then going down it to return to the building that the Smashers resided in.

Before Iji even opened the front door to enter, however, someone practically _rammed_ into her. Luckily, Feebas wasn't knocked out of her arms in the process, yet it still sent both of them more or less flying to the ground.

His hair was the most fiery shade of red she had ever seen, and his sapphire eyes – practically the same shade of blue as the majority of his clothes and the breastplate on his torso –nervously bored into her own. His slightly tattered cape was now dragged messily along the ground, though somehow no stains were present on it despite its rubbing relatively fiercely over the grass. Said article of clothing was blue on the outside and red on the inside; not too dissimilar to Marth's own cape, Iji noted. A sword was also sheathed in its scabbard on the boy's left hip, and a bandana covered up most all of his forehead.

After a moment of awkward staring, the youth – for he appeared to be just that (Iji guesstimated him to be around fifteen or sixteen) – he spoke up, saying, in a somewhat strange intonation, "Sorry, ma'am…"

'… _Is that a_ Japanese _accent I_ ' _m hearing_?'

Hastily getting up, Iji offered a hand out to the still-sitting lad, saying in response, "Eh, it's not biggie!"

Taking his hand and getting up, he next spoke, "I am sorry. I do not know English much."

' _Well_ , _he_ does _look pretty young_ … _I think he_ ' _s_ – _what_ – _fifteen_ , maybe _sixteen_? _Which would probably explain his lack of knowledge in languages that aren_ ' _t his first_ …'

"Well, again, it's no big deal!" She then put a hand to her chin in thought, saying in addendum, "Say, I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here, or…?"

An uncomprehending stare.

"Oh, yeah, not much skill with English… Just follow me, will you?"

The young man just continued to stare awkwardly.

Iji sighed, instead walking inside and gesturing for the red-haired lad to trail her. He did so with a touch of hesitance, hand subconsciously wrapping around the hilt of his sword. It took a solid second for him to realize this, and retracted the limb before Iji could notice this weary behavior, following her shortly thereafter.

The duo met with a few Smashers, I.E. Palutena ("Who's he supposed to be? A newcomer?"), Rosalina and an accompanying Luma ("I have not seen you before… _Whoever_ might you be?"), and another unfamiliar, blond boy with a yellow-red stripped shirt (he said nothing, just gazing away shyly in response to Iji's unintentional stare).

Finally, the two arrived in front of the gilded doors to Master Hand's grandiose room (not before a glance at Iji's map, though). Iji knocked with nary a moment of hesitance, and the door swung open precisely a second and a half after the final knock rang out.

Master Hand glided over to Iji and her companion from his desk, and said, "Hello, Iji. My, I would seem as if you have found one of the newcomers… Or, rather, returning fighters."

Iji quirked a brow, prompting the gloved appendage to elaborate.

"Well, you see, Roy – for that is his name – actually first came to the Smash Brothers organization in the meeting before the previous – that one being Melee. There was just one problem, however – in fact, that same issue is _still_ present…"

"And that problem is…?"

"He doesn't speak English. Japanese is his first language, if you have not already pieced that together. HE barely even knows two dozen words, so, as you can probably imagine, he has a rather hard time communicating and getting his point across. Luckily, however, we have a translator for him… If you would give me a moment…"

HE then glided back to his desk, snapping his fingers as he reached it and causing a proportionately large phone in relation to his size to appear. Gripping it in his fingers, he tapped it a few times with his singular thumb, and a few rings sounded out before the person he was evidently calling picked up.

"Hello, Marth? Are you available to come to my office right now?"

…

"Oh, very good! Yes, if you would come as soon as practically possible, it would be appreciated. You'll likely find a pleasant surprise here waiting for you…"

…

"You shall find out! There will be no spoilers from me!"

…

"See you in a short while, then."

…

And then he tossed the phone into the air, making it disappear with a second snap.

Roy and Iji both stared at this odd action.

"… What? That was my cell phone! Of course it needed to be larger than average, have you seen how big my finger tips are!? How would you expect me to work an average-sized phone with these things!?"

He waggled said bodily parts, as if to get a point across.

The pair of humans merely shook their respective heads at his strange antics…

* * *

It took approximately a dozen minutes for wielder of the Falchion to arrive, and when he gently opened the door and strolled in, Roy's eyes widened dramatically. Almost _springing_ out of the chair, he just about ran over to his fellow sword-user, saying with an almost reverent intonation:

"Marth?"

A few words or what were likely Japanese flowed from his mouth; Iji only understood the names, as those were evidently the same across the language barrier, and was a bit touched when the two engaged in a tight embrace, as if they were old friends meeting for the first time in years.

A few seconds of this passed before they separated, with Marth turning to Iji and next saying, "Iji, may I introduce you to Roy, an old friend of mine from a couple of Smash meetings ago."

A couple of more words in Japanese were said on Marth's part; when he was finished speaking, Roy let out a small "oh" of comprehension. He promptly extended a hand out for Iji to take, and the woman did so with a smile. Their handshake was firm and friendly.

"Well, this is a great meeting between old and new friends, but may I advise that you, Marth, tell Roy here about his upcoming re-introductory battle? He may need some sparing and advice to get him back on-track with the ways Smash functions, as well as the new items in battle and such."

"Will do, and gladly at that, Master Hand." Marth switched to Japanese, and the pair of swordsmen exited the room.

"So, Roy is gonna' get a crash-course like I did those days ago, huh?"

"Indeed. His opponent will be an _actual_ newcomer to Smash Brothers; one already well-versed in the art of combat…"

Iji couldn't help the small hum of interest that escaped her throat then.

' _Who might this newbie be_ , _I wonder_ …?'

A chirp from the Pokémon in her hands made her lose focus on her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, we'd better get you into that aquarium, huh? Sorry about forgetting so quickly, Feebas…"

And then she, too, exited Master Hand's room to do just that.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Five: New Allies

_Author_ ' _s_ _Note_ :

Well, lookie here! A lazy schmuck who can't seem to get up off of hit button and type stuff up! For the _nth_ time, I apologize for my procrastination – it's in us all. Some just more than others.

And your guess have proved correct, shadowmwape and RavenThePirate! Looks as if I owe you fifty precious gemstones now, Raven…

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-Five: New Allies

* * *

After depositing the Feebas into her new aquarium (she couldn't help but marvel for several moments at the soft blue light it cast into the room when it was dark), Iji next went to the room where the Smashers were transported to the various battle arenas, wherein she spotted Roy and a slightly taller, spiky-haired, young-ish man with the single _largest_ sword Iji has seen in her life clasped onto his back. His brilliant, somewhat oddly colored eyes gazed into hers curiously for a moment before returning to analyzing the person that he would shortly be combating.

Some other relatively unfamiliar people in the room included a curvaceous, black-haired woman (Iji spotted no less than _four_ handguns on her person, two of which being strapped two her feet – ' _How could she use_ four gunssimultaneously, _and in such a style_?'), a pair of oddly clothed, pale haired, pointy-eared swordsmen who could have easily been mistaken for each other were it not for their differing genders (they apparently spoke Japanese like Roy, and were busy marveling at their other – Iji wondered if the Robins reacted the same way to each other), and a thoroughly muscled, gi-wearing man who was very clearly a martial artist of some sort (his fingers were very nearly touching, blue sparks inexplicably flying between them as his muscles rippled in the process).

After Master Hand gave the word, Cloud stepped onto the teleportation device, Roy following in after him with relatively little hesitance. He _had_ done this before in the Melee competition, after all.

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers Brawl_ soundtrack – _Boss Battle Song 1_

The pair of sword-users were transported to Battlefield, which was, as Iji had pieced together, evidently the standard stage for newcomers. Each were 'ported in onto the opposing platforms, as was also per usual, and once the obligatory countdown ended, the two leapt from the platforms, landing on the stage's ground level and charged at the other.

Cloud made the first offensive move, attempting to charge at Roy with a diagonal slash. Roy was ready for this, however, countering the move and sending the Buster Sword wielder flying a short distance. He recovered relatively smoothly with a roll, but Roy was already in his face again, slashing at his stomach horizontally, sending him into the air for a second time. The red-haired lad leaped skyward, slashing him during a stylish flip and sending him further into the air.

' _Cloud doesn_ ' _t look like he_ ' _s familiar enough with the combat mechanics here to really do any good_ …!' concluded Iji, concerned for the newcomer, ' _Especially since Roy looks like he knows what he_ ' _s doing_!'

Indeed, Roy was still carrying the man around in the air. He was actually off-stage before he finally managed to get a blow in on his foe and recover, grabbing onto the ledge and lifting himself up after a use of his Climhazzard technique. He performed a sliding dash next, its combination of unexpected reach and speed tripping Roy up, sending him tumbling to the ground. He was too slow in reacting and getting up; Cloud punished this with a hard-hitting triple slash, flinging him far to the side of Battlefield.

The user of the Buster Sword took this time to hold his sword out, closing his eyes in concentration for a second. A fierce aura sprang up around him, and he resumed his battle stance after this. A bright blue field of energy now enveloped him, and he muttered something before meeting the charging Roy in the middle of the stage.

The two attacks met, swords bouncing off of each other when they collided. Cloud was swifter to get back into position, giving Roy a punch, a lunging kick, and then a sword swipe. All three moves connected, and Cloud followed up with a sliding dash, knocking Roy into the air. Roy was just beginning to get into a counter stance when the other sword-user twirled around before swinging his sword, whipping up a small tornado in the process. Roy was sent flying with a startling amount of velocity – so much, in fact, that he hit the Blast Zone and ended up being KO'd.

Iji's eyes widened at this, as did a few of the other on-lookers.

' _That attack_ knocked him out _that early_!? _I didn_ ' _t even see Roy_ ' _s Shield begin to overheat_!'

The young man wasted no time in re-charging the aura-like energy he had evidently just used, arms stretched out to have a had touching the edge of the blade like earlier. Roy leaped from the respawn platform, intending to strike him in mid-air, but Cloud rolled away just in the nick of time, striking back with a dash-slash. This was once again countered, scoring Roy a KO. The teen-aged hero sprinted over to the edge of the stage, patiently waiting for Cloud to come to him.

This proved to be a tactical error; the blonde jumped from the platform, landing over at the opposite end of the stage before he began charging up his Limit Break again.

As Roy headed over to re-balance the situation in his favor, Cloud swung his Buster Sword again. It scrapped against the ground for a moment before a wave of vibrant green energy erupted from the sword's edge. Roy was caught by surprise, yet reacted quickly enough this time around to swing around it and grab his opposition by the shirt.

Roy pummeled him with the hilt of the Sword of Seals a good four times before flinging his opponent behind him with some surprising strength, Cloud skidding along the stone surface for a few moments before standing back up. Roy was once again upon him, and the two momentarily exchanged blows. Roy, who was clearly struggling against his foe's raw strength, swiftly got an idea. The Young Lion horizontally swung at Cloud's legs. Said man hopped above the blow, anticipating it because of how long this stalemate was going on, yet was unpleasantly surprised when he caught a gloved fist to the face.

He was again sent to the ground, with Roy following up with a one-eighty degree swing of the blade in front of him. This sent him nearly straight up into the air – however, the Strife's Limit Break was now fully charged, at least if the fiercesome aura once again enveloping him was anything to go by.

' _So those attacks are charged by taking damage_ – _possibly giving it_ , _too_ – _or by just doing so manually_? _Better not just let him stand around and do what he pleases with that last one taken into account_ , _then_ …!' noted Iji, possibly for later, practical use.

All of a sudden, Master Hand's voice rang out:

" _Thirty seconds left_ , _Smashers_!"

'… _Huh_. _Looks like I got so caught up in the match to the point where I forgot this was a time-based one_.'

Cloud descended from the air, now appearing a bit hurried. Roy, too, rushed to his opponent with a touch more speed than his usual.

' _What_ does _happen if a timed match ends in a tie_ , _anyways_? _I_ ' _m actually kinda curious_ …'

The two now hurried to each other, evidently unwilling to find out for themselves. Cloud decided upon saving his Limit Break for when Roy was at a higher damage percentage – a wise decision, Iji thought, but certainly risky. Acting fast, the wielder of the Sword of Seals did a short hop, attacking him from the air. Cloud was caught unawares from the mix-up, being launched a solid dozen or so feet before landing, Teching in place to recover.

He dodged to the side as Roy approached, making him sprint right past him, and, evidently a quick learner himself, Cloud performed his own short hop and subsequent aerial attack. Roy was unable to turn around and react fast enough to with offense, taking additional damage and the usual knockback.

 _Twenty-five_.

Roy tried again to go on the attack, once again mixing things up by running forward, baiting a roll to the side and away from him. Reading this, the Hero of Elibe swung powerfully at his side, knocking Cloud dangerously close to Battlefield's boundaries. He was sent flying so far, in fact, to the point where he was forced to use his Limit Break to recover.

' _Woah_. _That is a pretty strong move for recovery_. _If that move that knocked Roy out is anything to go by_ , _though_ , _that Limit Break of his can be used for better things than simply recovering_ …'

 _Twenty_.

Roy dashed over to the ledge that Cloud was hanging onto, thrusting his blade across the ground and hitting the slow-to-get-up Cloud's fingers, knocking him off the stage yet again. Roy went the extra mile, leaping off of the ledge himself and performing a downward slice, dunking Cloud into the abyss. Roy himself barely made it back, only narrowly grabbing onto the ledge after performing a Blazer. He flipped back onto the stage with some surprising grace before approaching Cloud again.

 _Fifteen_.

Roy leaped up, attempting to attack his spiky-haired opposition and get the drop on him, yet failed when he read the move, swinging upwards with much strength and propelling Roy at an angle that may as well have been ninety degrees, finally ending the youth's Stock. Said youth impatiently leaped from the timely platform, intending to resume his offensive.

 _Ten_.

Roy settled on grabbing Cloud next, predicting his spot dodge and timing his grab accordingly. He swung widely above him, forcing Cloud some distance into the air, starting a combo not too dissimilar to the one seen at the beginning of the match. The fiery-haired lad sliced him once, twice, and thrice before the victim of this assault managed to dodge out of the way and land on the top platform.

" _Five_!"

Cloud got right to work charging his Limit Break, and barely a second later, it was ready for use. Roy met him with a swing, with Cloud dodging –

" _Four_!"

– and twirled in place, applying the Finishing Touch needed to clean up Roy's second Stock. He, amusingly enough, crashed against the camera, face comically shocked and slowly sliding down the screen, as if it were suddenly some sort of kid's cartoon.

" _Three!"_

The " _Two_!" rang out before Roy even got off of the platform, and the two again charged at each other, attacks meeting and swords clanging.

" _One_!"

And just as some of their most powerful sword swings met:

" _Time_!"

The two promptly backed off, and, with a snap, the pair of heroes were back in the places they started in, shields appearing to be over-heating quite violently, flashing red and emitting copious amounts of steam.

" _Sudden Death_!"

" _GO_!"

Roy appeared incredibly weary of everything around him, despite the only apparent threat being several meters'-worth of distance away from him. He decided upon an evasive course of action, jumping to his end of the stage rather than at the darkly clothed male. His eyes darted around erratically, as if searching for something in the far distance.

Cloud noticed these obvious signs of anticipation, and he, too, decided to more or less camp at the edge of the stage, charging up his Limit Break when he noticed that Roy was not appearing too enthused about approaching him.

Several seconds of non-aggression passed, during which Cloud got his Limit Break fully charged and ready. Iji pondered as to why they were still not doing a lot, until…

 _Boom_!

Bob-Ombs began to spontaneously drop from nowhere, with one appearing and exploding every second or so. Roy hopped out of the way of one when is spawned in a not a foot away from him, and another popped in just above his head. Acting fast, he countered the explosive, the brief period of invincibility the attack provides upon successful execution serving him well.

Cloud, meanwhile, was having luck on his side; none of the orb-shaped explosive had been teleportation near him as of yet. Deciding to try his luck, he used his Limit Break to improve the power of his Blade Beam, making it whiz by at a considerably higher speed than usual whilst also making it a glowing blue.

The move connected just as Roy finished Countering another Bob-Omb, making him get caught in a flurry of small slashed before sending him flying.

Now, this would have been overkill considering how high their damage percentages were at the moment, but Roy was having some considerably bad luck at that moment. A Bob-Omb spawned just above him at the super-charged Blade Beam was finishing it's execution, sending him flying into a _second_ one of the living bombs, creating a zig-zag pattern on his way to the Blast Zone. The teenager was sent flying off into the distance, screaming dramatically before being cut off as his form became but a twinkle in the distance.

Iji mentally winced, ' _Ouch_ … _So_ that's _what Sudden Death is like_ , _then_. Definitely _don_ ' _t want a fight to go to that_ …'

Cloud was evidently unperturbed by that supremely painful and unlucky experience on Roy's part, merely twirling his sword about a bit before having it hang over his shoulder.

" _The winner is_ … _CLOUD_!" announced Master Hand in a prompt fashion.

The two combatants were then teleported back into the room where they entered into Battlefield from. Both received a hearty round of applause for their efforts, though Roy still scratched his head, appearing a tad aggravated. He shook his hand, a smile on his face, before walking off.

Even Iji could tell that his smile was forced.

"I know that he's is probably sore about the end of his match, and rightfully so, but why does he look so angry? It _was_ just a single battle…"

Marth responded after a moment of pensive silence, "If I remember correctly, Roy has been in Sudden Death before this match thrice. All three times, he lost, and in a rather bombastic fashion, at that. It is really little wonder that he is unhappy about this loss as a result."

The woman merely lot out a small "oh" of comprehension.

"I would probably be more sore than him if it were me in his shoes, actually. I _hate_ luck-based crap like that, and if I lost just because of bad luck _four times in a row_? Yeah, I'd probably be pretty pissed."

"Understandable. I, too, would be angered is I happened to lose a comrade in a battle because of, say, a stray arrow from an enemy," he hummed in response before getting up.

"I believe that my friend needs some words of comfort. If you will excuse me…"

And then he, too, shuffled out, leaving Iji without a seat neighbor.

' _Oh_ , _well_ ,' she mentally sighed, ' _not like I have that much else to do but sit and watch the rest of the matches_!'

And that she did.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Six: A Fated Duel

_Author_ ' _s_ _Note_ :

Hoo, man! The combination of the re-release of the first generation of _Pokémon_ , _Fire Emblem Fates_ , and studying for college-level exams has kept me kept me rather busy and lazy after said studying /homework is over and done with. T'was my usual apologies, now and in the future…

A shout-out to zackattack999 for the Favorite! *insert witty, self-deprecating comment here!*

The Reviews and praise therein are appreciated as always, RavenThePirate and Masterelite28, as are the Follow and Favorite from the latter! Those two swordsmen are the Corrins , by the by. Figured I may as well go all the way and make them have both of their incarnations in this story like Robin and the Wii Fit Trainer, so there you go!

Disclaimer:

 _Iji_ , _Super Smash Brothers_ , and any referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective developers and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.

* * *

 _Dimensions and Realities_

Chapter Twenty-Six: A Fated Duel

* * *

All things considering, the other three newcomers plus one veteran in Smash held their own with some startling amounts of competency. The fight just after the previous was one between Lucas and Ryu, with the latter coming out on top by a narrow margin and a cry of " _Shoryuken_!"

The third between the male Corrin and Bayonetta, however…

' _Just what_ is _she_!?' was Iji's mental exclamation as the Umbra Witch beat her opponent whilst taking only thirty-one percent of damage total. The voluptuous woman performed a rather long taunt in the last few seconds of the match, much to the draconic swordsman's chagrin.

The fourth and final match was between the Corrin of the fairer sex and – to Iji's surprise – _Mewtwo_ , of all people.

Master Hand reasoned that Mewtwo had only fought in one battle thus far, that being his re-introductory battle against the Villager.

He had _lost_ that one, by the way.

So it was with much hesitance (and annoyance) that he stopped on the transportation device and whisked away, as was Corrin a few seconds later (she, too, looked reluctant about using the device, but for entirely different reasons).

' _First time I_ ' _ll be seeing him fight_ , _actually_ ,' she remarked, curious as to what he could be capable of.

After the prompt teleportation onto Battlefield, as well as the countdown, the two initiated their battle.

Cue music – _Super Smash Brothers Brawl_ soundtrack – _Boss Battle Song 1_

Corrin started with a fully charged Dragon Fang Shot. As Mewtwo was a spectator of the previous battle, however, the Genetic Pokémon reflected the attack with a use of its Confusion attack. The large ball of water had the odd effect of paralyzing its victim, and as Corrin was stuck in place, the purple-on-white Pokémon grabbed her with not with his hands, but, rather, his psychokinetic powers. He threw the pointy-eared sword-wielder to the ground before lifting her up and chucking her forward, blasting her with a few projectiles of what were likely to be psychic energy.

He jumped a rather large distance for his apparent weight, swooping in for a Meteor. The attack landed, yet ended up being reflected back with a Counter Surge on Corrin's part. This propelled her foe a great distance, giving her some much-needed leeway to get back on stage.

Landing with only a miniscule amount of grace, Corrin next decided to get up close and personal this time, as attacking from a distance was evidently not a safe option to go through with. Performing a spinning dash attack with the Omega Yato, she stabbed Mewtwo twice before quickly utilizing her Dragon Fang ability and chomping down on him several times before he managed to teleport away.

Now having put some distance between each other, Mewtwo got to charging up a Shadow Ball. Corrin promptly charged in, but Mewtwo momentarily disappeared, re-appearing not a second later and attacking back with a concentrated blast of psychic energy at the psuedo-dragon's feet. This, too, landed, though this time it hit just before Corrin could prep her counter attack. The result was a diagonal launch to the opposite end of the stage. A combination of Mewtwo being too far away and Corrin ending up too close to the stage made for a lack of a series of direct follow-ups, but the damage was still dealt, regardless.

Some distance now once again set between them, Mewtwo finished charging his Shadow Ball, his three-pronged hands glowing fiercely with a black-on-purple aura.

Corrin was understandably weary of what would likely be a powerful projectile attack. She thusly opted to begin dodging much more often in exchange for a less offensive approach. This lead to no small amount of frustration on the Pokémon's part. So angry was he, in fact, that he hissed – and I do mean _hissed_ – out loud, charging up a Smash attack. He head the next inward correctly, and Corrin received a two-way ticket to the Blast Zone as a result.

'… _Didn_ ' _t think that he would_ actually _sound like a cat_. _I mean_ , _he sounded pretty distorted_ , _but he_ has _said that humans did some pretty terrible things to him_ …'

Back to the match, Corrin hopped off the vibrantly glowing platform and back into battle, transforming her legs into a singular lance with a rather pointy tip and dropping down with the speed of a cement block subjected to gravity in the air. This caught Mewtwo off-guard, as he had not seen this specific move in the match with the female Corrin's counterpart, and he paid in decent chunk of damage.

Corrin continued her assault on the now-airborne Genetic Pokémon with a few swings of her Dragon Fanged arms, quickly landing and leaping again to attack her foe the same way. Mewtwo dodged the attack, teleporting to the ground to prevent the continuation of the combo. He prepped another Smash attack to catch Corrin in mid-air, but Corrin saw this coming and utilized her Counter Surge in response.

Mewtwo was forcibly sprang upwards along with the fiercesome torrent of water; Corrin jumped for a third time, and, with an upward swing of her blade, scored her first KO in Smash. She sighed once she landed, yet her reprieve ended up being quite short, as Mewtwo wasted no time in attacking her when he jumped from the respawn platform.

Another blast of psychic energy later, and she was face-down on the stone floor. She hastily got back up, swinging the Yato frantically as she did so, but her opposition simply hopped above it before stunning her with a bright flash of his eyes. All of a sudden, she was woozy and weak, hand on her forehead attempting to abate the sudden, splitting headache. Mewtwo followed up with a second blast of shadowy energy at her feet, sending her flying for the _nth_ time.

She flew off-stage, and Mewtwo again approached from the air. Corrin, anticipating the downward aerial attack, prepped a counter…

But Mewtwo simply teleported back on-stage rather than going on the offensive. He played a mind game with his opponent, and he won – even a Draconic Ascent couldn't get her high enough from her constant falling to get back to the ledge, and she ended up getting KO'd for the second time.

Just as Corrin left the obligatory platform, Master Hand enlightened everyone present to the fact that there was now but sixty seconds left. This, of course, resulted in the female Corrin picking up her pace in a desperate attempt to catch up.

Using her Dragon Fang, she leapt into the air and speared the ground directly in front of Mewtwo. Thinking that she would then lunge forward and kick him, he teleported behind her and readied a Shadow Ball. He was unpleasantly surprised, however, when she twisted around and kicked him upside the head, which resulted in a surprising amount of distance in terms of knock back. Now _he_ was involuntarily in the airspace of the stage, and Corrin, rather than follow Mewtwo's example of heavy aerial offensives, waited on the stony ground to attack. Mewtwo teleported straight to the ledge, but a poke from Corrin's transformed arm sent him to the Blast Zone.

Corrin sighed in exaltation at this, but Mewtwo rudely interrupted her short break with an aerial swipe of his arm, creating a rather sharp-looking blade of energy. Mewtwo, with the aid of his tail, performed yet another string of aerial attacks on his foe. The combo was interrupted shortly after the fourth blow by a prompt Counter Surge, with Corrin swiftly descending and strongly flapping her wings against Mewtwo just before landing. Her wings were evidently a great deal more powerful than they looked, judging by the large distance it sent Mewtwo despite his low damage count, though it was hardly far enough to warrant Corrin some time to get away. She expected the attack from the Pokémon, however, and water exploded from her transformed figure yet again, the move successfully and satisfyingly connecting and forcing him vertically into the air.

Now again with some space between the two fighters, as well as a meager thirty seconds left on the clock, the descendant of the First Dragons swept her lance-like arms around her person. The attack was just long enough in its execution to hit Mewtwo, even after he teleported in place in an attempt to dodge it, though judging by the lack of damage and knockback, it was hardly the most powerful of moves.

' _Damage_ is _damage_ , _no matter how slight_ …'

Mewtwo drifted backwards in the air and swatted Corrin with his tail, knocking her to the ground with it and leaving her open to a second swat, this time hitting her horizontally and having a similar directional force as a result. Corrin wasn't quite off the stage – just being a meter or so away before she gracefully rolled with a Tech – so Mewtwo continued his offensive, launching a Shadow Ball.

This ended up being Counter Surged, but, since she was facing towards him, the Psychic Pokémon could perform a Disable just after the attack was finished.

That he did, and Mewtwo got right to charging up another Smash attack. However, Corrin had already experienced the sensation for being confused in such a manner not even a minute ago, and this, in combination with her lower damage percentage, helped her in snapping out of it earlier. Seeing the attack coming, she feigned being tired for just a little while longer before she again readied a counter. Mewtwo was too slow to react to this clever play, and he ended up KO'd because of all of the stored up power of the attack being transferred to some fierce upwards torrents.

Corrin couldn't help but giggle at this relatively silly happenstance. Iji mentally herself, couldn't help the snerk of bemusement that left her mouth.

Mewtwo, on the other hand, was not nearly as amused, generating a field of psy energy around himself in the air. The attack was unexpectedly swift, and as such, the sword-user was hit a few consecutive times before being knocked back off-stage.

One aerial swipe of the paw-like appendage later, and Corrin was too far away to recover, even with her aerial jump and Draconic Ascent still at her disposal.

Mewtwo telepathically laughed once he got back onto Battlefield in what was probably simple spite.

And before Corrin could even resume the match…

" _TIME_!"

" _The winner is_ … _Mewtwo_!"

Once the two were back in the teleporter room, all of the forty-ish people on the room gave them both a hearty round of applause. Smiling, Corrin reached a hand out for Mewtwo to take. Mewtwo looked uncertain as to what to do.

' _C'mon_! _Give her the handshake_!" Iji thought enthusiastically, staring at Mewtwo urgently. She was surprised when his eyes momentarily shifted to make contact with hers, as if he had heard her thoughts.

' _Oh_ yeah, _he's telepathic_ …' tful.

' _Indeed I am_ ,' he responded unexpectedly. ' _Fine_ , _I will_ , _if only because Master Hand would frown upon me otherwise_ …'

He, in turn, extended a hand and stretched a singular, relatively large finger. Corrin took it in the opposite hand a bit awkwardly, though the shake itself was still firm and respectful.

Mewtwo promptly floated his way out, huffing internally in what was probably a mix of chagrin and embarrassment. Both of the Corrins – for the male one had been watching from the stands like the female had foe him – then walked out along with Bayonetta, as Master Hand had gestured for them to follow after him. Everyone else slowly filtered out, with Iji being the second-to-last of the bunch to exit (with the title of last going to a sleepy Jigglypuff).

' _What to do now_ …?' Iji pondered…


End file.
